Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The two Yoshizawa twin sisters were heading home from gymnastics practice. It was pouring heavily, and both sisters had umbrellas. The older twin, Kasumi Yoshizawa, was holding a yellow umbrella and had auburn hair in a ponytail, brown eyes, and a beauty mark under her left eye. The other twin, Sumire Yoshizawa, was holding a blue umbrella and had red eyes and glasses. Her hair was red, and it was untied, falling down her head to her shoulders.

“Today was brutal, huh?” Kasumi asks, smiling. She then looks back at her sister, who appeared almost zombie-like, having a sorrowful expression on her face. Kasumi wasn’t even sure if Sumire even heard her. She then stops walking and her smile is now replaced with a look of worry, “Feeling okay?” Kasumi asks.

“It’s not that,” the younger Yoshizawa twin replied, shaking her head. She then continues walking, looking at the ground. “Why am I doing so bad? I keep messing up my routine…” Sumire mumbles to herself. She then stops once Kasumi steps in front of her.

“Your growth spurt’s just changed your eye level. You’ll get used to it,” Kasumi assures. Sumire still looks the same as before. Trying a different approach, Kasumi then puts her hand up to Sumire’s head, as if she was measuring her height. “Look! You’re as tall as I am now!”

“We practice the same amount…” Sumire continues, almost as if Kasumi hadn’t said anything. “But you are the one who always gets first place… I can’t catch up to you, Kasumi…”

Kasumi bends down, before smiling. “You know why? Because it’s my right as the elder sister,” she brags, looking pridefully as she places her hand on her chest. 

“We’re in the same grade, though,” Sumire points out.

“Aw, don’t be so down,” Kasumi says.

Sumire clenches her fist, but then she loosens her grasp. Part of her just wants to punch Kasumi in the face for how inconsiderate she’s being, but then she realizes that Kasumi is just too perfect to be able to understand her, and that it’s her fault anyway. If she practices the same amount as Kasumi, and still gets mediocre scores, doesn’t that mean that she’s just not talented enough? Maybe she should quit gymnastics altogether.

“We’ll reach the top of the world together,” Kasumi assures, interrupting Sumire’s thoughts. She looks up at the sky, as well as a sign for the next gymnastics meet that’s coming up.

“You don’t get it,” Sumire points out. “You’ll never understand how I feel.”

“What?” Kasumi asks, confused. To her, it’s the first time Sumire acted like this. She doesn’t know how to react to what seems to be Sumire’s sudden depressive state.

Suddenly, Sumire’s legs start moving, picking up speed. Sumire doesn’t even know why she’s running, or where she’s going, it’s almost as if her legs have a mind of their own. While she’s running, she starts having flashbacks of previous memories.

Kasumi… If I were like you, things would be so much better… Sumire thinks to herself.

“Hey, wait up!” Kasumi yells, almost in desperation, before running after her. They were reaching the street soon, and the light was red. If Sumire continued running then… well she didn’t want to think about it.

Kasumi’s the one who people want… Sumire reminds herself, remembering the times where after gymnastics meets Coach Hiraguchi would congratulate Kasumi on her achievements.

“Look where you’re going! The light’s red! Hey!” Kasumi warns, now breaking into a full on sprint in an attempt to catch up to Sumire.

The talented one who can reach the top of the world… Sumire is suddenly broken out of her thought process when Kasumi yells out to her.

“Sumire stop! Listen to me! SUMIRE!” Kasumi pleads before pushing Sumire out of the way of an oncoming truck with all of her might. Sumire falls to the ground, safe from the incoming truck. Unfortunately, Kasumi appears to be not so lucky, as the truck is just a couple feet away from hitting her. Suddenly, a gloved hand pulls Kasumi back by the arm, dragging her to safety just in time, causing them both to fall on the sidewalk. The truck speeds away on the street, barely avoiding hitting Kasumi.

Sumire tries to get up. She notices that she’s soaking wet and that her glasses were knocked away from her face. Grabbing her glasses and loosely placing them on her face, she notices Kasumi lying on the floor with a boy, who seems a little older than them, maybe by one or two years, and is wearing what seems to be… a detective’s outfit? Sumire is about to question what a detective is doing with her sister, but then she realizes that she’s in the middle of the street. It’s a miracle a car hasn’t run her over yet. Sumire then scrambles to get up, nearly tripping once due to the wet, slippery road, heading over to where Kasumi and the detective boy are.

Meanwhile, Kasumi manages to get up, but is still a little shaken up after she just barely avoided death. She then notices that she’s almost lying on top of someone.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Kasumi apologizes, but it sounds almost like a squeak. She then helps the other boy up, who’s still on the floor. After the boy and Kasumi are both standing, Kasumi looks at the boy, who seems to have brown hair, reddish-brown eyes, and is wearing what seems to be a detective uniform. Initially Kasumi’s cheeks flush a little, because in her eyes he seems to be a very attractive boy, but then they return to normal.

“I-It’s fine,” the detective boy says. Kasumi feels like she remembers seeing him somewhere, but she can’t pin exactly where or when. “Are you alright?” he asks.

“Y-Yes, I’m fine,” Kasumi assures. She then realizes that Sumire’s still on the street, since she pushed her away. “Wait, where’s Sumire?”

Right on cue, Sumire appears from the street, her clothes soaking wet. “Kasumi! I’m here!” Sumire yells, trying to get Kasumi’s attention. Sumire is about to apologize to Kasumi about what happened, but Kasumi cuts her off with a hug.

“Sumire! I’m so glad you’re safe!” Kasumi says. After a few seconds, Sumire returns the hug, but it almost seems like she’s doing it out of obligation.

The detective boy just smiles at the two sisters, who begin to break away. “It seems you two are close. Are you siblings by any chance?”

Sumire’s about to speak up, but Kasumi’s faster. “Oh! I’m sorry, we haven’t even properly introduced ourselves yet! My name is Kasumi Yoshizawa and she’s Sumire Yoshizawa, my younger twin.”

“Ah, I see that you’re Yoshizawa-san’s daughters. My name is Goro Akechi,” the detective boy says. Kasumi and Sumire then realize why they felt like they remembered him.

“Wait, you’re Akechi-san?” Kasumi asks, in disbelief. “The one who’s supposed to be the second coming of the detective prince?”

“Well, yes, I suppose,” Akechi confirms. “Anyway, since you two are all safe and sound, I believe I should be taking my leave now. Hopefully I’ll see you soon.” Akechi says, looking at Kasumi. He then turns and walks away from the two twins.

As Akechi walks off to the distance, for some reason he can’t help but feel a little bit of satisfaction after helping save Kasumi’s life, no matter how much he tries to deny it. It’s a little ironic as well, considering that not a few moments ago Akechi was returning from the Metaverse and heading towards his home after committing a mental shutdown on one of Shido’s enemies.

Well, at least that save might help me gain some more popularity… and hopefully that’ll make it easier to take my revenge on Shido, Akechi thinks to himself, unlocking the door to his apartment. He then sits down at his desk and begins writing the paperwork after “solving” the case that he fabricated for Shido.

Meanwhile, the two Yoshizawa twins are heading home after their near-death experience. Kasumi now has a mixture of a frown and a worried look on her face, trying to make sure that Sumire doesn’t run off again. Neither of them say anything to each other after what happened, with the atmosphere between them slowly starting to get more awkward.

When they get home, they notice their parents, Akane and Shinichi Yoshizawa, looking at their phones. As the twins walk in through the door, both of the parents look up from their phones, revealing the worried expressions on their faces.

“We’re back, Mom and Dad,” Sumire and Kasumi say together. However, while Sumire’s voice is the same as usual, Kasumi’s voice no longer carries the usual cheerfulness to it.

“Sumire! Why are you soaking wet? And you too, Kasumi!” Akane asks. She then hurries to get towels to help dry themselves off with.

“We’ll discuss why you two came home later than usual later,” Shinichi says, as the two twins dry themselves with the towels. “But I think you two need to have a warm shower first.”

The two twins nod and proceed to head off to their own separate bathrooms to shower. After they come out of the shower and are wearing more comfortable clothes, they sit at the table, where Akane brings out dinner for the four of them.

“Why did you two come home so late? Did something happen?” Shinichi asks, in a slightly overprotective manner.

“Well, umm…” Kasumi starts off.

“I almost got hit by a truck while running across the street,” Sumire starts off.

“You… what!?” Akane asks in disbelief, almost dropping her fork in the process.

“Yeah, but Kasumi pushed me out of the way,” Sumire said. “And then Kasumi was about to get hit by the truck, but then someone managed to pull her out of the way before it could hit her.”

“…Who was that person?” Shinichi asks. “Do you at least know their name?”

“I think it was that Second Detective Prince,” Sumire starts off. “It was something like…” Sumire tries to remember who the person’s name was, but she can’t.

“It was Goro Akechi,” Kasumi says. “He was the one who saved me. After we introduced ourselves, he had to leave to do some other business.”

Shinichi raises an eyebrow. “It was him? Still, though, I’m glad that you two are safe. However, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed in you, Sumire. Didn’t I tell you to look both ways before crossing the street?”

“I-I’m sorry, Dad,” Sumire apologizes.

“Well, isn’t he coming on your show soon, Shinichi?” Akane asks. “We should probably thank him for saving our precious daughters.”

“You’re right, Akane,” Shinichi says. “I’ll try to talk to him if there’s time. And it’d be a good time to have you two know him better.”

Kasumi nods. “Yep!” Sumire just remains silent.

The rest of dinner continues on as normal. After the dishes are washed and the table is cleaned, all four of the Yoshizawa family members head off to their own rooms to go to sleep.

On her bed, Kasumi starts to think about the events that happened not too long ago. Was Sumire… was Sumire trying to kill herself? Kasumi asks herself. Then, she remembered how she was acting to Sumire before the incident. Sumire was clearly hurting about something after their practice today, and what did she do? She bragged about herself and completely disregarded her younger sister’s feelings. And she was supposed to be the role model for Sumire?

I really am a terrible sister, Kasumi realizes. Suddenly, the trophies and medals on her wall didn’t seem to be as shiny anymore. And for the first time in the while, Kasumi felt really pathetic.

Meanwhile, Sumire is on her bed, crying herself to sleep. I can’t do anything right… heh, I can’t even die right , Sumire berates herself. Kasumi had to save her, and it could have easily cost her life had that Detective Prince or whatever not grabbed her in time. She could’ve robbed Kasumi of their dream— no, her dream. It was obvious by now that there was no way for Sumire to compete with Kasumi for their dream of reaching international fame, it was a path that Kasumi would have to take alone. What a failure I am… Sumire mumbles to herself before falling asleep, too tired after shedding what seemed like a bucket of tears.

Chapter Text

About a week has passed since the “incident” and today is supposed to be when Akechi was to begin his week as a guest on Shinichi’s show, “Good Morning Japan.” While Kasumi seemed to be excited for his presence, Sumire did not show the same feelings, instead continuing to wear a neutral expression. After Akechi’s presence on the TV show, they would have to go to Shujin the next day to talk about their scholarship.

Throughout the week, Kasumi’s practices at gymnastics were relatively the same as before for Kasumi, performing just as good as usual. However, Sumire was slowly starting to fall behind even more, until the previous day, where she tripped on the floor and fell on her bottom, causing the other girls who were there to laugh and gossip about her. After her embarrassing performance, Coach Hiraguchi gives some advice.

“Look, Sumire, you need to find your own style! It’s obvious you’re just copying Kasumi at this point,” Coach Hiraguchi lectures. “Your former graceful style better fits you, Sumire, than whatever you’re trying to do now.”

“I… I can’t! Kasumi’s style is what everyone likes! What gets her first place at all of the competitions! And whenever I do a routine that’s my own, I only get third place at best!” Sumire says, her voice barely below a yell. She then covers her mouth and quickly says an apology for yelling at her coach.

Coach Hiraguchi doesn’t mention anything about Sumire just yelling at her, as Kasumi already told her before the practice about Sumire’s possible depression. Speaking in a slightly more calm voice, Coach Hiraguchi says “It’s clearly not working for you. Today in your performance, you honestly looked like a shrinking violet. It just doesn’t work out. You really need to find something else, even if it’s just improving your old performance.”

“B-But i-it’s impossible!” Sumire sobs, her eyes full of pain and shame. Kasumi can only watch awkwardly as Sumire gets lectured.

See, if you were just a better older sibling, she wouldn’t have to go through this, Kasumi realizes to herself. But no, you just had to disregard her problems, and only use her as a stepping stone to reach your dream.

“If you can’t,” Coach Hiraguchi starts off, her face showing a stern expression. “Then give up! The point of gymnastics isn’t to copy other people, Sumire! Honestly, I think it might be better for you to take time off of gymnastics for a while. To find out who Sumire Yoshizawa is, what makes you different, what makes you special. If you don’t realize that, you’ll never reach your dream!”

“O-Okay, Coach,” Sumire says, her eyes filled with tears from shame. She then turns around and quickly runs into the shower room, unable to take the embarrassment any longer.

After Kasumi finishes up her shower and changes into her clothes, she notices that the water’s still running in Sumire’s stall. Kasumi looks up at the clock, showing that Sumire was in the shower for 20 minutes. Kasumi, worried about Sumire, knocks on Sumire’s stall door.

“Sumire! Are you okay in there?” Kasumi asks, with clear worry in her tone.

“Oh, sorry. I’m coming out,” Sumire says. After a while, she then comes out of the shower wearing her clothes.

“Sumire, you were in the shower for 20 minutes. Is something the matter?” Kasumi asks.

“No…” Sumire replies. However, Kasumi can easily tell that Sumire’s lying, but she doesn’t push on it.

As the two get out of the gymnasium, some girls who are in their gymnastics class scoff and gossip about them.

“Look, it’s those stuck-up Yoshizawa twins again!”

“Pfft, isn’t Sumire’s and Kasumi’s dream to be at the ‘top of the world for gymnastics?’ Did you see Sumire’s performance! It’s shit!”

“Y’know, they both may get whatever they want, but at least Kasumi isn’t a fuck-up .”

The last words really get to Sumire. She looks like she’s about to run again, but then Kasumi’s hand grabs her by the arm.

“Kasumi, let me go,” Sumire demands, but her voice sounds more like a plea than an order.

“Sumire, I know those rumors get to you, but they’re baseless,” Kasumi says in an attempt to comfort her. “They’re just saying that because… they’re jealous of you.”

“ Liar, ” Sumire says, her voice suddenly getting loud. “If they were jealous they wouldn’t be comparing me to you, Kasumi! They never say bad things about your performance!”

Of course I wouldn’t be able to comfort her, Kasumi realizes. As the two board the train station, neither of them say anything, as the tension between them grows awkward.

Eventually the two twins make it to their father’s TV studio. There, they notice her father talking to someone. He was wearing a tan peacoat and had shaggy brown hair. Kasumi instantly recognizes him.

“Hello, Akechi-san!” Kasumi greets, rushing over to him in her usual bubbly manner.

“Hello, Akechi-san,” Sumire greets as well, but instead is looking down and her tone almost makes her greeting sound forced.

“Hello, you two. Yoshizawa-san, are these two your daughters?” Akechi asks. Shinichi nods his head.

“Yes, they’re Kasumi and Sumire,” Shinichi confirms, pointing at each of them respectively when he says their names.

“Ah, I see. Well, it’s a pleasure to meet them in person,” Akechi says. “Especially since now that I remember the first time we met we weren’t exactly acquainted with each other.”

“Oh yes, we wanted to thank you as well!” Kasumi says. “You know, for saving me on the street from getting hit.”

“Umm… Thank you for saving my sister,” Sumire expresses as well, but her voice is barely above a whisper.

“It was no problem, there was no way I could just stand there and not do anything. However, I believe that you should be thanked for your actions as well. In fact, if I recall correctly, you were the one who pushed her to safety, so you most certainly deserve some thanks as well,” Akechi says.

“Well I still wanted to thank you regardless,” Kasumi points out. “You did save my life, after all.”

“Ah, I’m sorry to cut this conversation short, but Akechi, you’ll be on the cameras in about 2 minutes,” Shinichi tells Akechi. He then turns to the Yoshizawa twins. “You girls can head home if you want. If you want, you can stay and talk to Akechi after he’s done.”

Shinichi and Akechi then proceed to head on to the stage set, where they are setting up, leaving the two Yoshizawa twins to talk amongst themselves.

“Are you going to head home?” Sumire asks.

“Actually, I was planning to stay and talk to Akechi-san for a while,” Kasumi replies. “You can go on home without me.”

Sumire considers staying as well just because Kasumi is, but then remembers the words her coach told her, to start finding out who she was. She supposes that going home by herself could be a start. “Al-Alright, then. See you later.”

As Sumire walks out of the studio, she barely thinks about anything. The only things that are in her mind are the words people said to her today.

“Did you see Sumire’s performance! It’s shit!”

“Y’know, they both may get whatever they want, but at least Kasumi isn’t a fuck-up .”

Those words are the only things stuck on her mind. As much as she wants to deny it, claim that it wasn’t true, deep down she thinks they’re right. Her routine was shit and she was just a burden to her family. A curse to the Yoshizawa name. A fuck-up . That’s all she is.

She feels her pace start to pick up. She starts running. She tries to slow down, but she can’t. Somehow she makes it to the train station safely and heads on home. She is practically sprinting to the Yoshizawa home. When she gets to the door, she somehow manages to fumble out her keys and unlocks the door, opening it. By the time she opens the door, she notices that her mother’s not there to greet her. That’s fine. She dashes up the stairs two at a time and opens the door to her room before locking it.

By the time she reaches her door she flops on her bed, not even bothering to change into her nightwear nor brush her teeth. She is sweating and panting like a dog before suddenly snapping back to reality, realizing that she ran to her home for no reason at all.

I think I’m going insane, Sumire thinks to herself. Too tired after everything that just happened, she falls asleep on her bed, not even bothering to put the blankets over herself.

About 20 minutes have passed since Sumire passed out on her bed. 

Akechi has finished talking and proceeds to head out to the lobby before noticing Kasumi, who’s on her phone. He assumes that she’s waiting for him to finish and he goes up to her.

“Ah, Yoshizawa-san, sorry to keep you waiting. Where’s Sumire-san?”

Kasumi looks up and notices it’s Akechi. She immediately puts her phone away and gets up. “Oh, she decided to go home. I actually wanted to ask you about something. And you can call me Kasumi, there’s no need to be formal.”

“Ah, I see,” Akechi says. “That’s fine by me. And if you want, you can call me without honorifics as well, I personally don’t mind. Anyway, I believe that there are a couple rooms that your father showed me where we can go and have a nice chat, in private, if you so wish.”

“Well, alright, let’s go, then,” Kasumi replies. The two of them head over to where the room Akechi was talking about.

After Kasumi and Akechi both set up chairs for them to sit on, Akechi begins talking.

“So what is it that you wanted to talk to me about, Kasumi?” Akechi asks.

“Well… It’s about Sumire,” Kasumi starts off. She then explains her conversation with Sumire to Akechi, who nods and listens.

“And then… when Sumire was running across that crosswalk… Now that I think about it… I think she was trying to kill herself,” Kasumi says, finishing up the story. “And, I feel like that I was well, you know, not being considerate at all. Like I’m supposed to be her role model, and I just disregard her feelings.” Kasumi sighs. “I’m just a failure at being an older sister, Akechi. Even though I’m not even older than her technically.”

“Ah, I see,” Akechi says. “So, how exactly does this involve me?”

“Oh! I-I’m sorry, Akechi!” Kasumi apologizes, a little embarrassed. “I was talking to you like you were my counselor or something and we haven’t even met—”

“Calm down, Kasumi,” Akechi says, holding his hand up to signal to her to stop talking. “I actually didn’t mind at all when you explained your problems to me. If anything, I should be apologizing for giving such a nonchalant answer when you told me something so personal.”

“Oh, it’s alright, Akechi,” Kasumi assures. “Well, to answer your question, I was wondering if you could well… teach me, I guess? You know, how to be a better older sibling I suppose.”

“While I am flattered, Kasumi,” Akechi starts off. “I’m wondering as to why you think I would be able to help you with this. Though I suppose I could help you if you want. I…” Akechi pauses, thinking about how Shido’s treating him right now and his past, just a pawn to do his dirty work. Based on the facts Kasumi told him, he almost feels like he can relate to her in some way. The part that he didn’t want to admit to himself, however, was that he genuinely didn’t want someone else to go through the same situation he was in. And plus, Kasumi’s tone seemed kind of desperate for him to say yes, almost as if he was their last hope (which he certainly wasn’t). After his thought process, he continues talking. “I think I can kind of relate to how your sister is feeling. So while I may not be the best solution, I think I can help you, at least a little.”

“Really, Akechi? Thank you so much!” Kasumi exclaims. “Oh, what should I do?”

“Well, I don’t really know much about your sister’s situation, and I’m no counselor, obviously, but I think it’s probably best to have her walk her own path. It seems that she’s having an inferiority complex right now, so I think it’s best that maybe you should let her take care of herself. Now, I’m not saying that you should completely ignore her, but maybe distance yourself from her a little,” Akechi explains. “Though I wouldn’t recommend just taking my advice, I’m a detective after all, not a counselor, so I’m not exactly well-versed in these subjects. Just consider these as my two-cents.”

“I see,” Kasumi says. “So I should let her go around and do things on her own? I’m kind of used to picking everything for her, but I think that’s probably what’s causing this, so maybe I should stop. Though part of me thinks that that’s not the only cause here.”

“Yes,” Akechi agrees. “There are probably some factors that aren’t taken into consideration here that we don’t know about. However, do keep in mind that I’m willing to talk to you if you have any problems.”

“Thank you, Akechi!” Kasumi exclaims. “Oh! Should we exchange contact information?”

“I don’t see why not,” Akechi replies. The two exchange their contact information. He then has a slight smile on his face.

“Oh, Akechi?” Kasumi asks, noticing the smile on his face. “Is this your first time getting a girl’s number?” she asks teasingly.

“No, it’s not,” Akechi replies almost instantly, with no signs of embarrassment on his face. “I had to work with female coworkers as well, so this is nothing new to me.”

Dammit, maybe next time, Kasumi thinks to herself. “Well, I have to get going now. It was nice talking to you, Akechi.” Kasumi bows, before starting to head out the door. “See you later!”

“It was nice talking to you, Kasumi,” Akechi replies. “Best of luck. See you later!” He waves his hand to her. She smiles and waves back before walking out and closing the door. And for some reason, even though he doesn’t admit it to himself, even though he has taken many lives over the past two years, Akechi feels genuinely happy for helping someone out of his own heart. Maybe even a little envious of Kasumi, who's seems so bright, honest and willing to help others, while he's just a serial killer with a detective outfit for a costume.

Chapter Text

The first day of school has arrived. The two Yoshizawa twins had just left the house to go to Shujin. While Kasumi was pretty excited for her first day at Shujin, Sumire was still in her saddened mood and didn’t even try to pretend to care like Kasumi.

“Oh come on, Sumire, cheer up,” Kasumi says, trying to bring her sister’s spirits up. “It’s the first day of school! We’re in different classes now! It’s a new beginning!” Kasumi took Akechi’s advice the previous day and asked the principal if they could be in separate classes. She knew that Sumire needed to be in a separate class in order to make her feel that she stood out (even though their grades were honestly the same overall). Shinichi and Akane didn’t seem to mind them taking separate classes, so they approved of the decision.

“It doesn’t matter, Kasumi,” Sumire replied. “They don’t care about me anyways. No one does . It’ll just be the same as always. You’re the one on the top of the class, and I’m always at the bottom.” She then sighs and then looks down at the ground.

“Sumire, our train is here,” Kasumi points out. “Let’s go.”

The two Yoshizawa twins head onto the train. There’s only one seat left. Kasumi remains standing, gesturing towards the empty seat to her younger sister.

“Sit down, Sumire,” Kasumi offers. “I’m fine with standing up.” Sumire sits down on the seat, but it almost seems reluctant, as if she didn’t want to be offered in the first place.

Eventually the two twins arrive at the school. They head off onto their separate classes. Even though she’s supposed to be an honor student, Kasumi barely pays any attention to the lecture that’s going on. That is, until she gets a message notification from her phone. Kasumi opens it up when the teacher isn’t looking. It’s from Akechi. She smiles as she reads the text.

Akechi (Direct Messages):

Akechi: I am just making sure that I have the right number. I probably should have done this when we first exchanged contact info, but I forgot. Good luck on your first day of school.

Kasumi: Thank you, Akechi-san!

Akechi: No problem. If you want to talk about your sister, feel free to ask. I’m sure we can meet up somewhere. I have to go to work now and you probably have to focus on the lesson, so if you want to chat, it’ll have to wait until later.

Kasumi: Thanks for the offer! Good luck at work!

Akechi: You’re welcome. And thank you!

Akechi puts his phone back into his pocket. He has to cause some more mental shutdowns on the subway conductors soon, as part of Shido’s conspiracy. He feels a bit guilty for a split second but then pushes his feelings aside. As long as he killed whoever was in Shido’s way, he could continue with his own plans for Shido’s assassination. Sighing, he turns on his phone, making sure no one’s around to see him, and then taps the Metaverse app.

Meanwhile, Sumire was struggling to pay attention in class. Even as the lecture was going on, the only things on her mind were the rumors. Not just the ones about her and Kasumi, but also the ones about this new “delinquent transfer student.”

“Hey, did you hear about that delinquent transfer student? ”

“Yeah, I saw him while I was walking to class today. He honestly looks pretty normal, but that changes when you realize what he’s done… ”

“Heard he’s done it all. Assault, murder, drugs, stealing, elephant-tusk smuggling… ”

Sumire is confused about that last part. Elephant-tusk smuggling? How would he do that? Sumire wonders to herself.

Apparently the teacher notices that Sumire’s not paying attention to the lecture, so she decides to ask her a question.

“Hey, you, the honors student,” the teacher calls out. Sumire looks up.

“Y-Yes?” Sumire says timidly.

“What’s the answer to the problem on the board?” the teacher demands. Luckily for Sumire, the problem was multiple-choice, so in the event that she couldn’t solve it, she could guess the answer.

“Umm…” Sumire says. “Choice B?”

The teacher nods approvingly. “Correct. To me it seemed that you weren’t paying attention, but it seems that you actually were. Nice job.” She then continues on with the lecture.

Sumire frowns a bit before sighing. If Kasumi were here, she would’ve been able to pay attention. Unlike me… Her thought process is interrupted when she overhears the gossip of the other students in her class.

“Well yeah, of course she got that right. She’s an honors student, after all.”

“I hear she’s not even that great. I mean, her twin sister is apparently a better gymnast overall.”

“Yeah, she probably got into Shujin just because of her sister. And the teachers still treat her like an effing princess.”

Part of Sumire wants to scream at them, who also happened to be the same people talking about the “delinquent transfer student.” Tell them that they’re wrong, not just about her, but that poor other kid as well. Maybe throw in a punch or a slap across the face. At least stand up for herself, like Kasumi would’ve done. But all she does is sit there. Because deep down, she feels like they’re right. Even at the meeting prior to the first day of school, the principal didn’t seem to care much about her. He only praised Kasumi. Even when her dad tried to interfere and bring up positive things about her, the principal didn’t seem to care. They only let her in with the scholarship because they either took in both Yoshizawa sisters or none of them. They only wanted Kasumi. To them, she was nothing more but a peasant in rags.

After barely paying attention in class, both Yoshizawa twins meet up outside the school. They walk back together to the train station and then head home. On the way, Kasumi tries to at least talk to Sumire, but Sumire only responds with answers that are at most 3 words. Eventually, Kasumi just gives up. The atmosphere between them begins to grow awkward. When they get home, each of them go into their own separate rooms, without saying a word, only coming out when it’s time for dinner. At the dinner table, Kasumi seems to answer Akane and Shinichi’s questions normally, but Sumire barely talks unless she wants to. After dinner, the two sisters head back into their own rooms once again to do their homework. Akane and Shinichi look at each other in worry, wondering what happened between the two sisters.

The next morning comes. Both Yoshizawa twins get ready for school, like usual, and then head out to the train station. As they’re waiting for the train to pass by, Sumire and Kasumi overhear some parts of conversation between the other students who are waiting for the train.
“Look, isn’t it those two?” one student asks.

“You mean the one with the red ribbon and the one with long red hair? I guess so?” another student asks tiredly. His tone sounds like he just wants the other girl to shut up.

“They’re both so thin… It’s not fair, I can wear a ponytail or have my hair untied…”

“What’s that gotta do with being thin?” the sleepy student asks, not understanding what she’s saying. The train arrives and the students head onto the train, including the Yoshizawa twins and a certain “delinquent” black-haired boy.

On the train, Kasumi and Sumire manage to somehow find two empty seats. They both sit down. However, there seems to be an old lady who’s struggling to carry her bags. Sumire notices the old lady struggling and wants to help. She definitely needs this seat more than me… Might as well do something right in my life and give up my seat for that old woman, Sumire realizes to herself. Mustering up her courage, she stands up and offers her seat to the old woman. Kasumi notices Sumire standing up and is about to ask why, but she’s interrupted by Sumire talking to the old woman.

“Please, take my seat,” Sumire manages to say. “My station’s coming up.”

“Are ya sure?” the old woman asks. “Then…”

The old woman is interrupted by a businessman who immediately takes the seat as soon as Sumire moves out of the way.

Oh wow, what speed! Sumire thinks to herself. “E-Excuse me, that seat was for that lady…” Sumire says. The man just looks up before falling asleep.

“Oh…” is all Sumire manages to say. Wow, I can’t even help people right. How pathetic.

Kasumi notices Sumire’s frown, and is worried again. She built up all of that confidence to help that old woman, and that businessman just had to take the seat and make her feel worthless again. Part of her wanted to punch him in the face, but her thoughts were interrupted by another student cracking his knuckles, who had glasses.

“Want me to ‘wake him up’?” the bespectacled boy asked, his tone filled with harmful intent. Even the businessman in the seat started to shake a little.

“Umm… no, it’s all right,” Sumire assured. “I can understand his position as well.” She then turns to the old lady. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be of any help.”

“It’s all right, dearie. Don’t you worry,” the old lady reassures. “If anything, that man should be apologizing.”

She’s lying. You need to make it up to her somehow, you failure, Sumire inner demons tell her. “Please allow me to carry your luggage, at least,” Sumire offers.

“Thank you! Isn’t it heavy, though?” the old lady asks, giving Sumire the luggage.

Sumire puts on a fake smile. “Not at all! I train plenty.”

Kasumi sighs to herself quietly. She couldn’t help Sumire again . Heck, she should’ve been the one to offer to “wake up the businessman” like that other student had done. Or at least give up her seat for the old lady. But no, she just had to stay there and watch her sister’s confidence in herself get shattered again. Not that she could fix it right now anyway. Their train station was literally coming up in a few seconds, and the damage had already been done. After another sigh to herself, Kasumi notices that the train has stopped. They’re at their destination now. She gets up and she and Sumire begin to walk out of the train.

Ren is currently walking out of the train. He begins to notice someone starting to run up to him. It’s the red-haired girl from the train. Ren stops and turns around. Another girl, who has auburn hair in a ponytail, is running after her.

The red-haired girl begins to bow. “T-Thank you so much for earlier,” she manages to say.

“For what?” Ren asks, confused. He doesn’t remember helping her out with anything.

“For speaking up when I first offered my seat on the train,” she clarifies. The red-haired girl then looks down at the floor. “Even if I couldn’t do anything.”

“Hey, it’s alright,” Ren tries to reassure her. “You did your best.” He then overhears the girl muttering something to herself. Ren can’t fully catch what she’s saying, but it sounded something along the lines of her being pathetic.

I wonder what that girl’s gone through, Ren wonders to himself. Maybe she has self-esteem issues?

“Sumire!” someone yells, before stopping in front of them. It’s the girl whose hair is in a ponytail.

So that’s her name, Sumire, Ren thinks to himself. He then notices the auburn-haired girl look at his uniform.

“You’re a second-year at Shujin Academy, correct? We’re both first years,” the auburn one said.

Ren looks at them for a bit before asking something. “Are you two twins?”

“Yes, my name is Kasumi Yoshizawa and she’s—” Kasumi starts off.

Sumire introduces herself. “I’m Sumire Yoshizawa,” she introduces. For some reason, she feels that she needs to introduce herself personally when speaking to him.

“Oh, nice to meet you two. I’m Ren Amamiya,” Ren states.

“I-It’s nice to meet you, Senpai,” Sumire says. Kasumi pulls out her phone and checks the time.

“Oh, sorry to cut the introductions short, but I think we have to go to school soon,” Kasumi points out. “I don’t think any of us want to be tardy. Please excuse us.”

“Alright, I guess I’ll see you two soon,” Ren says. He waves at the two twins, who head off to a separate route to school that he takes.

Apart from their meeting with Ren, nothing special happens at school. Both of the twins’ classmates constantly gossip about them, and occasionally it might be about that “delinquent transfer student.” Both of the twins hated the gossip, and did their best to ignore it. However, Sumire couldn’t help but feel that some of what they were saying was right, slowly starting to lose her self-esteem once again. On the other hand, Kasumi couldn’t help but think of Sumire when she heard the rumors, and how much of a failure she was at being an older sister. Both sisters were relieved to hear the bell ring to signal the end of the school day. As they walked to the train station together, Kasumi tried to talk with her sister again about how school was, but Sumire still only said brief answers. After that, they headed to the gym for gymnastics practice, which was almost the same as the previous practice. The other girls continued to snicker and gossip about Sumire (and a little bit about Kasumi as well), which only caused Sumire to get even more embarrassed. Coach Hiraguchi told Sumire the same advice as last time, but Sumire just didn’t seem to understand the concept of not moving in a similar way to Kasumi. Kasumi could only watch in helplessness as her sister began to revert back into her old, sad self. Maybe she should talk to Akechi about it? Eventually, the torturous practice was over, and the two headed home, where they had dinner (still barely speaking with each other), did their homework, and then went to sleep. This went on for about two more days, with the same monotonous schedule.

That is, until the 15th of April.

The first part of the day went normally. Wake up, get ready for school, go to school, and then sit through a couple of hours of lecturing and gossip. However, after their teacher was about to assign them homework for that period, one of the students jumped out of their seat and pointed at the window.

“Hey, look! Isn’t that Suzui-senpai?” the student asks.

“Oh yeah, you’re right,” another boy notices. “What the hell… Is she gonna jump?!”

“Woah, everyone, stay in your seats, calm down,” the teacher says in an attempt to stop the chaos and resume class, but no one hears her.

Even Sumire and Kasumi rush out of the classroom to see what’s going on. And they saw Shiho standing on the top of a building, her feet barely above the edge.

She falls forward. The class erupts into screams. Eventually people start running down the halls and stairs to see what’s going on. Both of the Yoshizawa twins follow the crowd as well.

After going through the massive ocean of students, Kasumi and Sumire arrive to see a blonde-haired girl going with the paramedics along with Shiho, who’s in a stretcher. Two of the paramedics lift her up and carry her inside the ambulance, which leaves.

Kasumi can’t help but be reminded of the truck incident not too long ago. Only this time, she imagines Sumire being the one on top of the roof, about to jump off. And as she finally falls toward the ground, all the students are taking out their phones and recording the scene, not caring about what happened to her sister. God, did she really hate what everyone was doing right now. The students were only taking pictures, probably just to post it on their social media accounts. None of the teachers even seemed to want to help, they just wanted someone else to take care of it. It disgusted her.

Principal Kobayakawa comes onto the scene. “Teachers, return to your classrooms for the time being! Please do not let any students go home yet!”

The teachers begin to herd all of the students and make them go into the classrooms.

Later that day, rather than meeting with Kasumi directly like usual, Sumire heads to the school rooftop, the exact same one that Shiho jumped off of. Surprisingly, it’s not locked. Sumire opens the door and looks down. Maybe that student wasn’t so different from her. She thinks back to the truck incident. Sumire looks down at the courtyard. It almost calls to her, telling her to jump off and be done with it. She couldn’t kill herself right the first time, this would be her second chance, right? A tear begins to fall off her cheek. Then two. Then many. Can she really do it? Before she can even think of answering that question, she notices the door open.

A few minutes earlier

Ren couldn’t believe the shit that just happened to him. Kamoshida planned on expelling him from school even though he didn’t do anything wrong. It was exactly like the time when he saved that woman and that politician had somehow fabricated the court against him, finding him guilty of assault. At least he had that new Metaverse thing that Morgana said could change people’s hearts. Still, he wanted to go to the rooftop and cool down a bit before going back to the courtyard and go with Ryuji to Kamoshida’s Palace. It wouldn’t be a good idea exploring that place while not thinking straight. Ren opened the door to the rooftop. However, there seemed to be a girl already there… crying? As he took a closer glance at her, he realized who she was. Sumire Yoshizawa, the one who he met on the train a few days prior. He walks up to her, and she notices him, almost falling backwards onto a chair.

“Y-You’re not planning on jumping too, right?” Ren asks, clearly in worry. 

“N-No, of course not,” Sumire says, her eyes still filled with tears. “I-I’m j-just—”

“It’s clear something’s bothering you,” Ren observes. He then pulls up two chairs for both of them. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Under normal circumstances, Sumire would’ve probably just rushed out the door without saying a word. However, for some reason, Ren’s voice seemed comforting, almost as if he actually cared about her. After nodding weakly and wiping her tears and sniffling a bit, she takes the seat next to him.

“I-It’s just, t-that when that student jumped off today,” Sumire starts off, “I just can’t help but be reminded of my own s-suicide attempt.” She then has no idea why she’s all of a sudden saying this, but then she starts explaining about the truck incident. She doesn’t seem to notice what she’s saying until after she’s done, where she covers her mouth, as if she’s shocked that she said all of that to him. She looks at Ren worriedly. Was he going to laugh? Say that it was stupid of her to do that? Call her a failure, like what everyone else thought of her as?

Ren, on the other hand, can’t help but feel bad for his red-haired kouhai. It seemed like she went through a lot. Part of him wants to straight up hug her, tell her that he’s there for her, but he obviously knows that all that’s going to do is freak her out more. After pondering about what to say, he comes up with an answer. “I’m sorry about what happened to you. But, I’m not sure if you hear this often, but people out there do care about you, you know.”

“No one does,” Sumire says sadly. “Basically the only reason why I got into Shujin in the first place was because of my sister.”

“Who cares about that?” Ren asks. “ Make them care about you. Show them that you’re not Kasumi, and you don’t have to be . And if they still don’t want anything to do with you? Screw them! There are always going to be people out there who’ll still support you, like your family, for example. I’ll support you. ”

Sumire can feel her cheeks go red a little at that last comment. “Y-You’ll support me?” Sumire asks, almost in disbelief. She then smiles weakly. “I suppose you’re right, Ren-senpai. Maybe I should try to do that.”

Ren nods in response. “Go for it.”

Sumire smiles a bit more, before asking something. “Say, Senpai? Do you think we can form… a deal?”

“Sure, what is it?” Ren asks almost instantly.

“Well, you seem like a really kind person, Senpai,” Sumire says. “And I was wondering if you could… like give me advice if you have the time? Oh, but it wouldn’t be fair if you didn’t get something out of this too…” Sumire frowns for a bit before coming up with an idea. “How about I teach you some gymnastics moves too? I know I may not be as good as my sister, but I’m sure I can teach you something…”

Morgana pops out of Ren’s bag. “Gymnastics, huh. Those acrobatic skills could probably help us during our tasks. I’d say we take it,” Morgana advises quietly.

Ren nods. “Sounds like a deal,” he responds.

“Really, thank you so much!” Sumire exclaims in joy. “Oh, but we can’t start today. I have gymnastics practice right after school.”

“That’s fine by me. I have plans after school as well,” Ren replies.

Much later…

Sae puts her hand underneath her chin after hearing Ren’s retelling up to this point.

“I've read in the reports that the Phantom Thieves’ physical abilities are more acrobatic than the average person’s. They apparently move through the shadows, swift yet graceful. It seems that you’ve gained an aptitude in specialty equipment as well. Wouldn’t a natural conclusion to draw be that you were trained by an expert in that field?” Sae then slams her fist on the table. “Well? Tell me the truth!”

Ren nods in response before continuing his story.

Back to the present…

After hearing that unknown voice in his head telling him that he unlocked a new confidant of the Faith arcana, Sumire begins to ask Ren another question.

“Umm… correct me if I’m wrong, Senpai,” Sumire starts off. “But I thought I heard a cat meowing a few moments ago. Is it yours?”

Ren nods before opening his bag. “Yep, you caught me. I carry my cat to school with me. Never got caught. His name is Morgana.” Morgana pops out of the bag and meows.

“Oh, you bring a cat to school? That’s nice, I suppose,” Sumire says. She then smiles. “I won’t tell anyone about it.”

“Thanks,” Ren says. His phone begins to ring. He checks it and notices it’s from Ryuji. Probably about when he’s going to go down so they could go to Kamoshida’s Palace.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Sumire-san,” Ren says. “But I think I have to leave now. I promised my friend I’d meet up with him after school.”

“Oh, that’s fine!” Sumire assures. “Oh, and it’s fine to call me Sumire. I don’t really mind.”

“Alright then. You’re free to call me Ren then, if you wish,” Ren says. “Well then, see you later, Sumire!” Ren gets up from his seat.

“See you later, Senpai!” Sumire says. She then bows. Ren smiles and leaves the school rooftop. Sumire follows suit shortly after. 

When she meets up with Kasumi after school, Kasumi asks her something.

“Where were you, Sumire?” Kasumi asks. “I was starting to get worried that I was beginning to consider looking for you.”

“Oh, sorry about that,” Sumire apologizes. “I was talking with Ren-senpai.”

Kasumi seems a bit shocked. This is the first time that Sumire didn’t give a short response like usual. However, she seems to notice something about what Sumire says, and smiles. “Ren-senpai, huh? Are you falling for him already?”

Sumire’s cheeks go red. “I- umm… no?” she stutters out. Kasumi just chuckles a bit. After a while, Sumire begins to regain her composure. “Besides, why are you teasing me about that? You spoke with Akechi way longer! Are you falling for Akechi, Kasumi?”

It's Kasumi’s turn for her cheeks go red. “N-No!” Sumire laughs at Kasumi’s expense. Well, it seems that we’re starting to go back to normal, Kasumi thinks to herself. Maybe Sumire’s talk with Ren had been really helpful? Well, whatever it was, she could thank Ren if they ever meet again. It seemed that even after one chat with Sumire, he was able to bring the twins closer together again, even if the tension between them wasn’t completely fixed yet.

Chapter Text

The school days continue to go on like normal for Ren. Get questions right in class, hangout with his friends or “confidants” as Igor called them, and infiltrate Kamoshida’s Palace with Ryuji, Morgana, and their newest member, Ann. However, one day after his homeroom class, Kawakami asks him to have a word with him. As he follows her, he notices that they’re heading to the guidance office. They reach there in no time.

“There’s something I’d like to ask you,” Kawakami requests. “It won’t take long.”

Ren nods in response. The door to the guidance office slides open, and out come Kamoshida and two girls along with another faculty member. Wait, I recognize those two, Ren thinks to himself. He then remembers almost instantly that they’re the Yoshizawa twins Sumire and Kasumi.

Kamoshida puts on a fake, slightly creepy smile and tells Kawakami, “I see you’re already getting on top of the problem I’d mentioned this morning, Ms. Kawakami! I appreciate the support.”

Sumire says, “Thank you again for the talk earlier on the rooftop,” with her voice being just barely above a whisper. She’s also slightly looking away from him, almost as if in embarrassment.

“No problem Sumire,” Ren reassures. “If you want to talk again I’d be more than happy to chat with you.”

“Oh, you two know this guy?” Kamoshida asks Sumire, his eyes narrowing a bit.

“I met him once on the train with Sumire,” Kasumi replies. “That’s it for me.”

“He lent me a helping hand while we were on the train,” Sumire says. “I also talked to him once on the school rooftop as well.”

Kamoshida sighs and frowns. “I recommend you steer clear of the likes of him if you have any consideration for your future,” Kamoshida “advises” the twins. “Remember the discussion we just had? There are a number of students at this school that you shouldn’t get involved with…” Kamoshida then points at Ren. “This one’s at the top of the list.”

Oh shut the hell up, you bastard, Ren thinks. Even if I did actually assault that man, at least I didn’t abuse and rape people, you pedophile.

Kasumi seems to believe Kamoshida for a moment. “Oh, you mean the delinquent transfer student?”

“He’s not a delinquent, Kasumi!” Sumire argues. However, before Sumire can defend Ren further, Kawakami clears her throat.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I need to use the guidance office,” Kawakami points out.

“Oh, pardon me. We should get going too— don’t want to get in the way of guiding this delinquent and all,” Kamoshida says with another one of his fake smiles. Kamoshida and the faculty member leave.

“Please, excuse us,” Sumire says, bowing. Kasumi bows too. The twins leave as well.

“After you,” Kawakami says. Ren just nods and enters the door, with Kawakami following right behind him.

After they sit down, Kawakami asks Ren something. “I’m going to get straight to the point. Did something happen between you and Mr. Kamoshida?”

“Not at all,” Ren replies. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, there was that little exchange just now, but that’s not all… He gave me a brief lecture this morning, and your name came up. Something about the dangers of a lack of supervision…”

He’s the one who’s dangerous here and has a lack of supervision, Ren thinks. What a hypocrite.

Kawakami sighs. “I don’t mean to pry, but… Just make sure you don’t go causing trouble, okay?”

“Alright,” Ren replies.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Kawakami says. “Those girls outside the office— you didn’t make a pass at both of them, did you?”

Well, Sumire’s kinda adorable, Ren thinks to himself. He then smirks and says, “The one with the glasses was kind of cute.”

Kawakami does not find his joke funny and frowns. “Uh-huh… Mr. Kamoshida apparently has a really close eye on you… Apparently you’ve been getting involved with Sakamoto-kun. You seem acquainted with both of the Yoshizawas as well,” Kawakami then frowns in thought before speaking. “…Maybe you’re just naturally drawn to athletes?”

Ren’s about to respond with a snarky comment, but Kawakami cuts him off. “Sorry, bad joke. That’s all I wanted to discuss. You’re free to go.”

Ren nods, says a “thank you,” and leaves the guidance office.

The rest of the school day passes by quickly for Ren, apart from texting Ryuji and Ann in class. Based on Morgana’s suggestions, he should probably find a doctor so that they could be better prepared on infiltrating the Palace. While he’s planning out what he should do after school, he almost bumps into a certain auburn-haired girl.

“Oh, sorry about that, Kasumi-san,” Ren says almost instantly. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

Kasumi shakes her head. “No, it’s alright. Actually, now that you’re here, I was planning on apologizing and thanking you for something. Oh, and call me Kasumi. I think you referred to Sumire without any honorifics, so it’s fine to do the same with me as well.”

“In that case you can call me Ren,” Ren replies. He then raises an eyebrow in confusion. “What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Well, I wanted to apologize about what I said earlier at the guidance office today,” Kasumi says. “You don’t seem like a delinquent at all, even if you have a record on you and there are those rumors going around.”

“It’s fine,” Ren brushes off with a smile. “I’m getting used to the rumors now and some of them are kind of ridiculous, so I don’t really care. I was kind of surprised that Sumire was so quick to defend me earlier this morning, though…”

“Oh, that leads me to my second point,” Kasumi says. “I wanted to thank you for talking to Sumire yesterday.”

“No problem,” Ren says. “Although I’m wondering why that’s something that needs to be thanked.”

“Oh… well, how do I put this…” Kasumi says, deep in thought before coming up with a question to ask Ren. “Well, what exactly did she talk about with you on the day of the, well… incident?”

Ren knows what she’s talking about. He explains to her what happened on that day, from the beginning. He tells her about her crying on the rooftop and the stuff that she talked about with him.

After Ren concludes his story, Kasumi can’t help but feel even more guilty again. An acquaintance was comforting her sister a lot better than her. And her crying on the roof… if Ren hadn’t been there… what could have happened? Why couldn’t she just be a better sister? She followed Akechi’s advice, right? Maybe it was time for her to contact him again? But then… it was kind of pitiful that she always had to go to someone else for advice. She couldn’t just help Sumire on her own.

Ren notices her guilt and pained look. “Is there something wrong, Kasumi?”

Kasumi snaps out of her train of thought. “N-No! I’m fine!”

Even if he may not be that attentive, he could kind of tell that Kasumi was lying. Maybe there was something going on between the two twins?

“You know, it seems like something’s troubling you too,” Ren points out. “I could help you, you know.”

So, like another Akechi? Kasumi thinks to herself. Well, personally, she was already more acquainted with Akechi than Ren, so it might be easier for her to just only go to Akechi. But having another person give their own advice wouldn’t be so bad either. She then comes up with her answer.

“Well, if it’s not too much trouble, I would like it, yes,” Kasumi says. “Although, if you’re busy, that’s fine by me as well. As long as you help Sumire, that’s good enough for me.”

“It’s no trouble at all. I personally can’t stand by when people are in need,” Ren reassures.

“Oh, but I need to repay you somehow, right?” Kasumi asks. “I know! I can teach you gymnastics!”

Ren rubs the back of his neck. “Actually, well… Sumire kind of made that offer to me already.”

Oh, dammit… Kasumi thinks to herself. Although that did make more teasing material for Sumire, as she seemed to have a bit of a crush on Ren already. Kasumi smiles a bit at the idea. But then, how would she repay him then?

Luckily, Ren already had a possible solution ready. “Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to learn from both honors students,” Ren points out. “And plus, it’s not going to be the exact same style, right?”

Kasumi nods. “That would work. Alright, Ren, I’ll teach you gymnastics!”

Much later…

Sae thinks about what Ren told her so far.

“Well, I’ve previously stated that the Phantom Thieves were already more acrobatic than the average person. However, they’re not only just graceful, but they can be bold and filled with confidence in their movements as well. Surely these two completely different styles of movement cannot be taught by the same person. In addition, I believe that they were quite… close to someone working in the law,” Sae slams her hand on the table. “Well? Tell me more about them!”

“Alright,” Ren reassures. He continues his story.

Back to the present…

Ren hears a voice in his head, which is the exact same one that he hears when he gets a new confidant. He wonders what it is, before the voice revealing it is Hope.

Hope, huh, Ren thinks to himself. Considering Kasumi and Sumire are twins, Hope and Faith would go together as well.

“Well, I guess that settles it,” Kasumi says. “I have to go to gymnastics practice with Sumire right now actually. I’ll see you later!”

Ren nods. “See you later!” He waves his hand, with Kasumi waving back in return.

Meanwhile, Sumire, who was walking down the hallway, noticed Ren and Kasumi talking together. For some reason, she can’t help but listen into their conversation. She can’t really hear them, but there is one sentence that manages to get through.

“Alright, Ren, I’ll teach you gymnastics!”

Sumire couldn’t believe it, with a pang of jealousy in her heart. Was Ren choosing to go after Kasumi’s teachings instead? Although she couldn’t really blame him. She wasn’t that good at gymnastics anyway, it would be a setback for her to teach him.

Suddenly, a hand is placed on top of her shoulder. Sumire almost squeaks, before turning around and noticing it’s Kasumi.

“Oh, Kasumi, hi…” Sumire stutters.

Kasumi raises an eyebrow. “What’s wrong, Sumire? You seem stressed.”

“I’m stressed because Ren’s taking your gymnastics lessons over mine…” Sumire thinks to herself.

Apparently that isn’t the case, as Kasumi has a teasing smile and giggles. “Oh? You mean you’re worried that I’m going to steal Ren away from you? Don’t worry, I’m not that heartless.”

“…Huh?” Sumire says in confusion, before realizing that she just said it out loud, resulting in her to blush slightly. “I-I mean—”

“It’s obvious that you have a crush on him,” Kasumi points out, still smiling. “I’ll be rooting for you!”

Sumire’s face goes beet red. “Wh-What?!” she exclaims. “Well, umm… uh…”

Kasumi continues smiling before giggling again. “I’m not interested in him, don’t worry. Anyways, he’s taking gymnastics lessons from both of us.”

Sumire’s confused. “Why would he do that? You’re clearly better than me.”

“He wants to learn from both of us. He mentioned something about ‘wanting to learn different styles’ as well. Originally, I think he was actually planning to refuse me, but I guess he didn’t want me to be left out,” Kasumi explains.

“Oh… Well, I guess that’s relieving to hear,” Sumire whispers, which Kasumi hears and smiles.

Kasumi looks at the clock in the hallway. “Oh shoot, Sumire, we have to go to gymnastics practice now!”

Sumire notices the time and nods. “Let’s get going.”

The two start walking out of the school to gymnastics practice, with the two twins chatting a bit and occasional teasing from Kasumi here and there.

Chapter Text

A few days have passed from Kasumi’s and Sumire’s encounter with Ren. One day, the twins notice the other Shujin students gathering around a bulletin board around the school. On it appears to be what seems to be multiple identical red cards. Sumire gets closer to the board and reads it aloud.

“Sir Suguru Kamoshida, the utter bastard of lust… We know how shitty you are, and that you put your twisted desires on students that can’t fight back,” Sumire reads. She then pauses before continuing. “That’s why we have decided to steal away those desires and make you confess your sins. This will be done tomorrow, so we hope you are ready. From, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.”

“Huh,” Kasumi mutters. “Did Kamoshida do something wrong? We haven’t really been here for a while, so maybe something happened? And who are the Phantom Thieves of Hearts? How do they steal desires? Isn’t that impossible?”

“I don’t know,” Sumire replies. “Guess we’ll find out tomorrow.”

Suddenly, Kamoshida walks down the hallway and looks at the cards. Almost instantly, he bursts out in pure rage.

“Who’s responsible for this?! Did you do this?! Or was it you?!” Kamoshida yells. The students flee immediately as Kamoshida randomly points fingers at students.

“C’mon, Sumire, let’s go,” Kasumi says quickly, grabbing Sumire’s hand and quickly leaving the hall before Kamoshida could come after them as well.

“Was it you two?!” Kamoshida’s voice booms throughout the room.

“What’re you talking about?” Ren asks. He then smirks, reminded of the incident where Kamoshida threatened to expelled him, Ryuji, and Mishima. “And plus, what if it was? Even if it was as exactly as you imagine it to be, hypothetically speaking, what else can you do? ”

“Tch… So you’re playing dumb?” Kamoshida asks, his voice seething with anger. “Eh, it’s not a problem. You’ll be expelled soon enough anyway,” Kamoshida scoffs.

Suddenly, the background changes into pitch black. Ren can only see himself, Ann, Ryuji, and Kamoshida, but it appears to be his shadow talking.

“ Come… Steal it, if you can! ” Shadow Kamoshida’s taunts. However, only the trio (plus Morgana) can hear it.

The scenery changes back to normal and Kamoshida walks away.

“Judging from Kamoshida’s response… I’m sure we’ve had an effect on his Palace!” Morgana observes.

“Does that mean the Treasure’s appeared?” Ann asks. “We’ll be able to get it today, right?”

“It’s not just ‘today.’ It’s ONLY today,” Morgana warns. “The impact of seeing a calling card doesn’t last long, and it cannot be repeated. This will be our one chance to steal the treasure.”

“One day’s more than enough for us!” Ryuji exclaims.

Ren nods. “Yep. And Ryuji, keep it down. We don’t want to appear more suspicious than we already are.”

Each member of the group then walks to their respective classrooms, with all four members anticipating for the end of the school day.

A week later…

Principal Kobayakawa makes an announcement telling all teachers to take their students to the auditorium for a morning assembly. Apparently it wasn’t planned because none of the teachers seemed to know about it. Sumire and Kasumi are in the auditorium with the rest of their class. They can overhear some rumors.

“What’s with the sudden morning assembly?” a boy asks.

“Apparently it’s about that girl who jumped the other day,” a girl replies before rolling her eyes. “They don’t have to tell us not to commit suicide.”

Sumire and Kasumi both stiffen up a little.

“Nah, I don’t think it’ll be about that,” another boy chimes in. “Maybe it’s about that calling card that was sent the other day or something?”

Principal Kobayakawa steps onto the podium. “Let’s begin this school-wide morning assembly. As you all know, a tragic event has taken place the other day. Thankfully, we have been informed that she has pulled through, but it will take time until she recovers. Everyone here has a bright future ahead. I implore that you rethink the importance of life and—”

Kobayakawa is interrupted by the sound of the door opening. It’s Kamoshida, who hasn’t showed up to school ever since the calling card was sent. He no longer has the cocky, arrogant demeanor he once had, instead it’s replaced by something more of the lines of regret and shame. His shoulders are drooping down and he’s looking towards the ground.

“Mr. Kamoshida, what’s the—” Kobayakawa starts, but he’s interrupted again by Kamoshida.

“I… have been reborn. That is why I will confess everything to you all…” Kamoshida continues. He then steps on stage before continuing. “I have repeatedly done things that were… unbecoming of a teacher. Verbally abusing students… physically assaulting my team, and… sexually harassing female students. I am the reason why Shiho Suzui tried to kill herself!” He then falls to his knees.

“Wait, actually?” Kasumi asks. “Could it be that he actually…”

“It’s starting to make sense now,” Sumire observes. “The bruises on the volleyball team members, Suzui-senpai, everything …”

“I thought of this school as my own castle… There were even students that I sentenced to expulsion, simply because I didn’t like them… Mishima Yuuki, Ryuji Sakamoto, and Ren Amamiya are those students. I will, of course, rescind those,” Kamoshida continues.

“Wait, Senpai was going to get expelled?!” Sumire exclaims. Kasumi is shocked as well; she wasn’t expecting any of those three to be sentenced to expulsion.

“I am truly sorry for putting innocent youths through such horrible acts… I am an arrogant, shallow… and shameful person. No, I’m worse than that…” Kamoshida apologizes. He crumples to the floor. “I will take responsibility and kill myself for it!”

The students erupt into chaos. Kasumi and Sumire can barely even hear each other. Did Kamoshida really say that? Was he going to kill himself in front of the whole school?

Meanwhile, the other teachers were panicking as well. Principal Kobayakawa rushes off the podium.

“Mr. Kamoshida! Please get off the stage for now!” Kobayakawa asks in despair.

“Everyone, return to your classes!” one teacher yells.

“I—” Kamoshida starts, but he’s interrupted by Ann.

“Don’t run, you bastard!” Ann yells. “Shiho’s still alive even after all the things that made her want to die! You have no right to run from this!”

“You’re right… You’re absolutely right…” Kamoshida acknowledges. “I should be punished under the law and atone for my crimes… I did horrible things to Takamaki-san as well. In return for giving Suzui-san a position on the team… I… I tried to force her into having relations.”

The crowd of students whisper and gossip about Kamoshida’s disgusting act.

“As of today, I will resign from my position as an instructor and turn myself in. Someone, please call the police!”

“This morning’s assembly is over! Return to your classes immediately!” one teacher yells.

“Kasumi?” Sumire asks, nudging Kasumi with her elbow.
“Hmm? What is it?” Kasumi questions.

“Does this mean… that the Phantom Thieves thing and the calling card… were real?” Sumire asks.

“Oh shoot…” Kasumi realizes. “You might be right… Did they do something to him? But… stealing a heart is impossible right? But then… if the calling card and Phantom Thieves weren’t real… then why would he change all of a sudden?”

“I suppose we can’t find that out for now,” Sumire points out. “But still… I’m just glad that we were part of gymnastics. Who knows what he might’ve done to us… He’s sick.”

“Yeah, I definitely agree,” Kasumi says. “Glad he didn’t come across us.”

After school that day…

Kasumi and Sumire are at their house after school. Since they don’t have gymnastics practice today, they are free to do what they want. Kasumi’s finishing up her homework in her room when suddenly she gets a text. The notification tells her it’s from Akechi. 

Without even realizing it, her heart skips a beat and she opens it up instantly, with a smile on her face.

Akechi (Direct Messages):

Akechi: Kasumi, are you free to talk today? I know that you have gymnastics practice, so I totally understand if you’re busy.

Kasumi: Actually, I don’t have gymnastics practice today. Where do you want to meet up?

Akechi: I was actually thinking of that cafe in Kichijoji. Perhaps we should meet up there?

Kasumi: Sure! See you there!

Kasumi quickly gets dressed and heads down the stairs. Akane, who’s cooking in the kitchen alongside Sumire, notices Kasumi.

“Kasumi, where are you going?” Akane asks.

“Oh, I’m just going to see Akechi,” Kasumi notifies. “We’ve decided to go to a cafe in Kichijoji.”

“It seems you two are quite close,” Akane observes. “Maybe he wants to check up on you after that incident today with Kamoshida? Still can’t believe that happened, though. I guess I’m just glad that the bastard didn’t do anything to either of you and that he’s going to jail,” Akane says with a scowl. “Anyway, you two met at the TV station, correct? I think your father said that you stayed for a bit to talk to him.”

Kasumi nods. “Yep, that’s correct!”

Akane smiles. “Oh? Is that when you exchanged numbers? Don’t tell me you’re dating already,” she teases.

Kasumi looks away, blushing slightly. “M-Mom! We’re not dating!”

Akane laughs. Even Sumire giggles a little at Kasumi’s expense. “Well if you say so. Just make sure to be home by dinner,” Akane notifies. Kasumi nods and leaves.

Akechi is standing right outside of the cafe. He’s currently reading a news article on his phone about the incident at Shujin, and these so-called Phantom Thieves of Hearts people. Could they really change hearts? And how? Why change his heart? Kamoshida was a sick bastard that honestly deserved to die. It was a little hypocritical coming from him, a person who carried out mental shutdowns on a regular basis, but at least he wasn’t a pedophile scumbag who abused minors. Even he had boundaries. Allowing Kamoshida to live was mercy, and he didn’t deserve mercy, especially from these Phantom Thieves of Hearts people. Maybe they were too pathetic to have blood on their hands.

Akechi then notices a familiar figure walking down the street, before noticing it’s Kasumi. She’s wearing a pink knit sweater, a black skirt, and brown boots that go up to right between her knees and ankles.  He puts on a smile and waves at her. She waves back at him.

“Hey, Akechi!” Kasumi exclaims.

“Hello, Kasumi,” Akechi responds. “Let’s go inside, shall we?”

After ordering their drinks, Akechi and Kasumi find a table and sit down.

“So, since you’re a detective and all, you heard about the incident, right?” Kasumi asks Akechi.

Akechi nods. “Yes, I’ve heard about it. Based on what he’s done, I’m glad that he’s going to jail now. Still, what intrigues me more is about those Phantom Thieves of Hearts people. Could they really steal desires?”

“I honestly don’t know. Still, it seems weird that his personality did a complete 180, and it happened after the calling card. Maybe they actually do exist? But then again, this seems something straight out of a comic book or something,” Kasumi points out.

“I see,” Akechi says, nodding in agreement. “I agree with you that it does seem impossible, but there really isn’t any other logical explanation, I suppose. Maybe blackmail? The case isn’t assigned to me, so I know just as much as everyone else right now.”

Kasumi nods. “Blackmail could be an option, I suppose. But still, how would they get their hands on it? Apparently Kamoshida had a lot of power in the school or something.”

Akechi smiles. “I see that you’re starting to think like me, Kasumi. And, to be honest, I have no idea how to answer your question. We’ll probably have to wait until more information is released or when these Phantom Thieves strike again, I suppose.”

“Yeah, that’s true. Still, I’m just glad that whatever happened, happened,” Kasumi says. “Oh! Our drinks came out now! I’ll go get them.”

Kasumi goes to get the steaming hot drinks and comes back to the table with them. Akechi takes his drink and sips it, with Kasumi doing the same thing as well.

“So, how’s your sister doing?” Akechi asks. “Is she doing better?”

“Yes!” Kasumi exclaims, before realizing that she might have been too loud. “Whoops, I guess I got a little too excited there. Anyways, I think she’s doing better. I tried out your advice and I think it might be working.”

“Glad to hear it,” Akechi says, smiling. “So, what about you? Are you doing good?”

Kasumi nods. “Yeah, I guess. I mean, I’m glad that she’s doing great and all, but I think that I haven’t really been for her still. It’s mainly this second-year, Ren Amamiya, who’s been helping her. I feel like he’s done more for her than me.”

“Oh, is that so?” Akechi asks. “Well, I think you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. In fact, I think it’s better that she’s having other people help her out as well. That way, she knows that there are others who value her more than just her family.”

“Well, I guess you might be right, Akechi-san,” Kasumi says. “Thank you for that.”

“No problem,” Akechi reassures, but then he remembers something. “Oh yes, it’s alright if you call me by my first name, Goro. I don’t really mind.”

“Oh, alright then,” Kasumi says. “It’s fine that you call me Kasumi then, Goro. Oh, but you already do sometimes,” Kasumi realizes before pouting. “Why didn’t you ask?”

Akechi freezes up for a bit. “Oh, I’m so sorry about that Yoshizawa-san—” Akechi’s interrupted by Kasumi trying to hold back a laugh.

“I was just messing around with you, you know,” Kasumi points out. “I didn’t mind at all when you called me by my first name. Maybe it’s because we’re friends?”

Akechi is shocked. He’s never really had a friend before, only coworkers and acquaintances. Hell, even his own father didn’t really care for him. But, Kasumi was offering to be his friend even though they’ve met only twice. Still, if she found out that he was an assassin…

“Umm… Akechi? Are you alright? Did I say something wrong?” Kasumi asks out of concern. Maybe he doesn’t see me as a friend? Well, I’ve only been piling my problems onto him anyways, so no wonder he doesn’t see me as a friend.

“Oh no, of course not! Sorry about that, I was just lost in thought for a second,” Akechi apologizes. “And for your question, I think it’s because we’re friends,” Akechi instinctively says, before realizing what exactly he just said.

Kasumi smiles brightly. “That’s great to hear, Ake— I mean, Goro.”

Akechi nods. “Yep. We’re friends now, Kasumi.”

Kasumi gets a notification on her phone. She opens it up and notices it’s from her mother.

Akane: Dinner’s going to be ready soon. You should probably head home before the food gets cold. And you better update us on what happened with Akechi. ;)

Kasumi freezes for a second, blushing slightly, before regaining her composure and typing a “Alright, heading home right now.”

She then looks up to Akechi. “Oh, sorry to cut this short, Goro, but I have to leave to go home now. It was really nice talking to you!”

“Same here. Let’s get going,” Akechi says. The two teens finish their drinks, get up, and head out the door. Once they’re outside, they wish each other a safe trip and head to their own separate ways.

Was that really the best decision? Akechi asks himself as he walks down the street heading towards his apartment. I mean, what else was I supposed to do? Turn her down? Say “oh yeah, you’re going to be friends with a person who’s literally committed a shitton of murders by making them go insane, which resulted in other people dying?” Akechi sighs. Hopefully, he can keep his secret from Kasumi for as long as possible. But do friends really do that? Keep secrets from each other? 

Well, it’s not like I should go tell her that I’m a murderer, Akechi thinks to himself. Besides, his top priority is killing and enacting his revenge on Shido, not this friendship bullshit. However, even though he’s trying to deny it, deep down he knows he doesn't want the only person who actually seemed to care about him, not for his skills or his public image, but actually cared about him, Goro Akechi, to abandon him once she finds out his true colors.

Chapter Text

About a week has passed since the Kamoshida incident. Kamoshida had been tried in court and was sent to jail. The Shujin rumor mill talked about Kamoshida for a couple of days (which was nice for the Yoshizawa twins as they took a break from gossiping about them), but then it reverted back to normal, continuing to gossip about the “infamous transfer student” and the two “goody two-shoes gymnasts.”

That is, until one day, Principal Kobayakawa holds an assembly in the late afternoon. He stands up on stage and speaks into the microphone.

“Ever since that specific incident, many of you have voiced concerns that I could not bear to ignore. We believe that the mental health of our student body is absolutely vital, so we’ve acquired the services of a therapist.”

“A therapist?” Sumire asks.

“They probably only got one to make the school look good,” Kasumi says. “Kobayakawa was trying to cover Kamoshida’s abuses up. They don’t care about us.”

“You might be right…” Sumire says softly.

“The floor is yours, Doctor…” Kobayakawa continues, before stepping away to the side. The therapist comes up on stage. The girls in both Kasumi’s and Sumire’s classes giggle and gossip about the doctor’s looks. Kasumi just rolls her eyes.

“It’s nice to meet you all! My name is…” the doctor introduces, before the microphone cuts out. “Huh?” He then readjusts the mic and then continues speaking. “My name is Takuto Maruki. Thank you for welcoming me to your school.” He then bows before accidentally slamming his head into the mike. Some of the students laugh a bit, including Kasumi and Sumire.

Maruki continues his introduction, but it’s clear that he’s still in pain after what happened. “No need to be formal with me, though. I’m just here to counsel anyone who’s interested. You can even call me Doc, if that would help you feel more comfortable. Any assistance you need, I’ll be— Oh…”

Maruki then smiles and jokes, “I guess I’m not really any good for helping with money problems…”

The students laugh at his joke and then Kobayakawa subtly pushes Maruki out of the way. “…Thank you, Dr. Maruki. The assembly is over. All teachers and students, please return to your classrooms at this moment.”

“Should we go to the counseling session?” Sumire asks Kasumi after school.

“I don’t think we can right now,” Kasumi points out. “I mean, we don’t know how long these sessions last, and plus we have gymnastics soon, remember?” However, Kasumi knows that it’d definitely be beneficial for Sumire to get at least one counselling session, especially after her first meeting with Akechi. Hell, maybe she should get one too. It’s not like it’s going to harm her or anything.

Sumire just nods before continuing to walk. The twins head down the halls, passing by the counseling office on the way there. They notice that there’s a person about to head into the counseling office. It’s Ren.

“Senpai?” Sumire asks, shocked. “Did you come here for a counseling session?”

Ren nods. “Yep. And plus, it’d look bad if the rumored ‘delinquent’ of Shujin was ditching the counseling sessions. Also, snacks.” Both Ren and Dr. Maruki let out a little chuckle. “What about you two? Are you going?”

Kasumi shakes her head. “Kasumi and I have to go to gymnastics practice after school, so we won’t be going today. Sorry about that, Dr. Maruki.”

Dr. Maruki smiles. “It’s alright, Yoshizawa-san. Just remember that I’m always available after school, so you can come whenever you want! Good luck at practice, you two!”

“Thank you!” Kasumi and Sumire both say, before bowing and leaving for their gymnastics practice.

After their gymnastics practice, the two twins head back home. However, the gossip from the other girls in practice was much worse today, especially after Coach Hiraguchi scolded her again for her performance. Something about “her needing to find who she was,” or something like that. Even after practice, Kasumi was mumbling something about “taking Akechi’s advice” and “going to counseling.” Guess even her sister thought that she was hopeless. Sumire felt the need to talk to Ren again. She grabs her phone, turns it on (although it took a while since her phone was damaged), and then begins typing out a message.

Senpai (Direct Messages):

Sumire: Senpai? Are you available right now?

Senpai: Yeah, Sumire, what’s up?

Sumire: Umm, can you meet me in Inokashira Park? I want to talk to you about something.

Senpai: Sure!

Her frown immediately changes into a slight smile as she sees the message. She types out a response almost immediately.

Sumire: Thank you so much Senpai! If you want to, we can go over some gymnastics as well!

Senpai: Sounds good. I’ll be bringing my gym clothes. See you there!

Sumire: See you there!

Sumire puts her phone away and packs her gym clothes. She then skips down the stairs and notices her mother on the couch, reading a book.

“Mom, I’m going to be going to the park for a while,” Sumire notifies.

Akane nods. “Okay. Are you going by yourself?”

“No, I’m going to meet up with Senpai,” Sumire replies, with a tinge of excitement in her voice.

Akane smiles. “Oh? You mean the one you talk about at dinner everyday?”

“MOM!” Sumire whines, blushing a bit. “Not everyday!”

“Fine, close to everyday,” Akane teases. “Well, have fun! Oh, and be back by dinner.”

Sumire nods. “Ok, mom!” Sumire leaves the house, heading towards the park.

Ren has just arrived at the park, but there seems to be no sign of Sumire. Maybe she’s not here yet? He did come pretty early, after all.

His question is answered when he notices someone coming out of one of the bathrooms in the park. It’s Sumire, who’s in her gym clothes.

“Oh, Sumire, you’re here,” Ren greets. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Well, umm…” Sumire starts. She doesn’t finish her sentence.

“It’s alright, take your time,” Ren reassures Sumire. “How about we sit down somewhere?”

Sumire nods and the two sit down on one of the park benches.

“So, Senpai…” Sumire starts off. “Do you… do you think I’m… a burden?”

Ren raises a puzzled and concerned look. “No, what made you think that?”

“I don’t know, it’s just that…” Sumire starts off. She looks like she’s about to cry. “Today after practice… my coach scolded me for trying to mimic Kasumi’s performance again. And then the other students mocked me after that, like usual.” Sumire sighs. “Even Kasumi said something about me going to counseling.”

“Well, I don’t think that getting help is necessarily a bad thing. I mean, you are getting help from me right now, right? It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes even I need help sometimes, whether it’s from Ryuji, Ann, or Morgana,” Ren points out.

“I see…” Sumire says. “But, why does it always feel like I’m being punished for it? People always laugh behind my back and always compare me to Kasumi!”

“Well, then, let them have Kasumi,” Ren says. “You don’t need to be liked by everyone in the world, Sumire.” Ren smiles. “After all, this is coming from the school delinquent.”

Sumire giggles a bit. Looks like he’s making progress. “Well, you are right, I guess. I just need to focus on the people that are proud of me! Like you, Senpai! And my family, I guess.”

“I’m sure your family is very proud of you,” Ren assures. “Maybe they may not show it all the time, but I know they’re still happy for you.”

“You say that like you know my parents personally,” Sumire points out.

“Well, yeah, I guess that’s true,” Ren says. “But I don’t think that they’ll be the type to give up on you, based on what you said.” Unlike mine , Ren thinks to himself. His parents didn’t even care that much when he was sent away to Tokyo. In a way, he was a bit similar to her.

Sumire nods. “Ok! Yeah, I think I get it now, thanks Senpai! I don’t know why, but I think it’s easier for me to open up to you for some reason.” She then frowns for a moment. “Umm… Senpai? Do you mind going out with me and talking? Even if we don’t do gymnastics?”

“Uh, romantically?” Ren teases. Shit, did he go too far? He remembered the times when Ryuji tried suggesting romantic things with Ann and he almost got slapped a couple of times. But then again, Sumire didn’t seem like the type of person to do that kind of stuff.

Luckily, Sumire’s face made Ren sure that he shouldn’t have regretted his word choice at all. Her face went entirely red upon hearing that, and it was definitely the cutest thing ever to him. “What?! I mean… umm…”

Ren can’t help but chuckle at that. “Relax, Sumire, I was just joking.”

“O-Oh…” Sumire mumbles, with her face still red. “A-Anyway, do you want to start your gymnastics training now?”

“Oh right, I completely forgot about that,” Ren realized, before smiling. “Sure, I’ll take you up on that.” However, Sumire seemed completely focused on something else.

“Huh? Sumire, what’s wrong?” Ren asks. Sumire points to Ren’s bag, where it was practically hopping around.

Oh shit, Morgana’s gonna kill me… Ren thinks to himself before opening the bag. Morgana immediately pops out and angrily meows at him.

“Hey! You almost killed me there!” Morgana exclaims. “Couldn’t you have at least let me out before you had your counseling session with Sumire?!”

“Woah, calm down, Morgana,” Ren says. “It was just an accident.”

“Yeah, an accident that almost killed me!”

“Hey, if you’re so talented you should’ve been able to get out of the bag by yourself!”

“I was trying to!”

Sumire can only help but giggle as the two bicker. Eventually she has to interrupt them. “Senpai? Can I ask you something?”

Ren immediately stops talking to Morgana, putting a finger to his cat’s lips. “Oh shoot, sorry about that Sumire. What is it?”

“Can you talk to your cat? Morgana, was it?” Sumire asks. “It seems like you’re having a full-on conversation with him.”

Ren pauses for a second. “Well, sort of? I kinda can. Sometimes it does seem like I’m having a conversation with him. Obviously I can’t understand what exactly he’s saying, but I think we’re on good terms if we can at least somewhat understand each other,” Ren lies.

“Oh, that must mean you two have a really good friendship then,” Sumire says. “Anyway, let’s start practicing! I can teach you the basics. Might be a good refresher for me as well.”

“Alright, let’s do this!” Ren exclaims enthusiastically.

Sumire nods and takes off her glasses, puts in a glasses case, pulls out a red ribbon (Ren thinks it’s the exact same one as Kasumi’s ribbon), and ties up her hair.

“Hey, you look almost like your sister,” Ren says. “Except for the hair color, obviously.”

Sumire nods. “Usually my sister has her hair tied up and has contacts. I have contacts too, but I usually prefer wearing my glasses and having my hair down sometimes.”

“I see,” Ren says. “Well, I think you should know that you look great either way, with glasses or without glasses. Or whether your hair is tied up or is loose.”

“Thank you,” Sumire says, smiling, with a faint blush on her cheeks.

Dammit, Ren thinks to himself. He was sure that she was going to get flustered after hearing that.

The two begin to practice, with Sumire teaching him the basics. They’re at the practice for about an hour. By the time they’re finished, Ren’s really glad that he chose to have dinner after the gymnastics practice, otherwise he’s pretty sure he would’ve puked. At least he can apply some of the basics into his Metaverse adventures and got what he thought was a Confidant Rank-Up. What even were those things anyway? How many levels were even there? He also learned that new trick Sumire taught him. According to Morgana, it would be helpful to use it to avoid enemy ambushes. Or something like that, he wasn’t really paying attention, as he was way too dizzy and tired to even think straight.

After practice they say their goodbyes and head back to their homes. Ren barely manages to stumble to Leblanc. He pulls out his phone and notices Sumire’s calling him. He picks it up.

Call Started

“Senpai? Are you there?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“How did you think of practice today?”

“It was rough. You have to go through this everyday? And that was just the basics…” Ren manages to speak, panting.

“Well, you’re still a beginner, so it makes sense that you’re tired. And don’t worry about me, I’ve gone used to Coach Hiraguchi’s strict teaching over time.”

“Still, I can’t believe you go through this nearly everyday. See, if you can survive through this without being on the verge of passing out like me, it’s clear that you’re someone to be proud of, Sumire.”

“Thank you, Senpai! I’m glad that you accepted my offer to talk to me today as well. Oh, my mom’s asking me to help set up the table. See you later, Senpai!”

“See you later, Sumire!”

Call Ended

Sumire hangs up. Akane smiles at her. “So, was that ‘Senpai’ on the phone right now?”

“Yeah, it was!” Sumire exclaims. “We had a fun time at the park!”

“I’m sure you did,” Akane says. “If you always have a smile every time you mention him, I wouldn’t be surprised that you had a lot of fun hanging out with him. Say, what’s his real name anyway?”

“It’s Ren Amamiya,” Kasumi says. “Though I wouldn’t be surprised, Mom, if you thought his name was Senpai the whole time. They hangout like everyday and she still calls him Senpai!”

“Hey!” Sumire exclaims, blushing. “Like you’re one to talk! You hang out with Akechi all the time too!”

Kasumi raises her hands. “At least I don’t call him Akechi-senpai all the time even though we’re friends. You two act like you’re a married couple already with the pet names and stuff.”

“What?!” Sumire exclaims, her face practically becoming a tomato. Kasumi laughs and the two sisters bicker until Shinichi has to tell them to calm down so they could eat dinner.

Chapter Text

It’s been around two and a half weeks since Ren hung out with Sumire. There were only three somewhat major events that happened. The first was that Sumire seemed to be smiling a lot more often, whether that be when she got a text from Ren, or just randomly out of nowhere. Guess Ren really did make her lovey-dovey after all. Not that Kasumi was going to complain about that, it meant more teasing material for her and also meant that she was recovering from that depressive slump. It did make her a little jealous (as much as she didn’t want to admit it) that she couldn’t exactly do the same with Akechi, since he was a detective and all and would most likely be busy. The second important thing was that there was a major competition coming up really soon, so Coach Hiraguchi was making both of them practice a lot harder and more often as well, so that meant that they couldn’t really hang out with their respective senpais for most of the week. And well, going to the counseling session was a no-go (although to be honest Kasumi was more saddened about the former, even if she didn’t admit it to herself). Finally there was that ridiculous rumor that the “delinquent transfer student” (aka Ren) was apparently in an elephant tusk trafficking scheme. Obviously neither of the Yoshizawa sisters were going to fall for such a baseless rumor like that, especially Sumire. Even if Ren did have a criminal record, that was just stretching it way too far.

Kasumi was just silently tapping her pencil on her desk during the last period of class. For some reason, she’s really good at pretending that she’s paying attention, so that means that there’s more time for her to let her mind wander to wherever it wants. Speaking of which, she should probably uphold her promise to Ren sometime soon. After all, Sumire already gave him a lesson in gymnastics, so she should probably give him one too. Heck, while she was at it, maybe she should offer Akechi lessons too. Not that he’d be interested or have the time for it, but it’d be a bit more fun that way.

The bell rings, snapping Kasumi out of her thought process. Had time really passed by that quickly? She was pretty sure there were at least ten minutes of class left, but whatever. Kasumi needed to head home to grab her gymnastics clothes and spend some time doing homework before she had to head to practice. She quickly met up with Sumire at the outside of the school gates and began walking to the train station with her younger twin.

When the two twins are on the train, Kasumi can overhear some snippets of gossip from the other students.

“Hey, did you hear about the new Phantom Thieves heist? Apparently they targeted the master artist, Madarame,” one student asks.

“Really? Hold on, let me check,” another student replies. He opens up his phone and searches up the Phantom Thieves. “Holy shit, you’re right. They went after him next.”

“Huh? Sumire, is that right?” Kasumi asks. Both of the Yoshizawa twins turn on their phones, and they realize that the two students were correct. There were pictures of calling cards scattered around the museum where Madarame was holding his exhibit. Heck, there was even a picture of one of the calling cards.

“Sir Ichiryusai Madarame, a great sinner of vanity whose talent has been exhausted. You are an artist who uses his authority to shamelessly steal the ideas of his pupils. We have decided to make you confess all your crimes with your own mouth. We will take your distorted desires without fail. From, the Phantom Thieves,” Sumire reads.

“Huh, does that mean that Madarame’s a criminal?” Kasumi questions. “Well, that’s interesting. Gotta ask Ren what he thinks about this.”

“You’re going to meet Senpai today?” Sumire asks, shocked.

Kasumi shrugs. “Hopefully. I’ll send him a request if I can meet him at Inokashira Park.”

“Why are you meeting with him?” Sumire asks, her tone slightly defensive.

“I’m teaching him gymnastics lessons too, Sumire,” Kasumi points out. She then smiles and teases, “Don’t get too possessive, Sumire. Boys don’t like that.”

“Hey! I’m not possessive!” Sumire yells, blushing slightly, with Kasumi laughing at Sumire’s expense. However, after a lot of people on the train looked at Sumire after she yelled, Sumire became even more embarrassed.

The two sisters eventually arrive at home. Kasumi pulls out her phone and is about to contact Ren. However, she suddenly realizes something. Her and Ren never exchanged contact info.

Crap, Kasumi thinks to herself. Oh wait, I can just ask Sumire for his contact info!

Kasumi knocks on Sumire’s door. “Hey, Sumire, can I have Ren’s contact info?”

Sumire says something, but it’s muffled. It sounds like something along the lines of: “Only if you don’t tease me about it.”

“I won’t tease you about it. I just need the contact info,” Kasumi requests.

“Fine,” Sumire says. She takes a piece of paper and writes out the contact info. She then slides it under the door.

“Thanks, Sumire!” Kasumi exclaims. She heads back into her own room and then puts the contact info into her phone.

Ren (Direct Messages):

Kasumi: Hey, this is Kasumi. I’m sorry that we forgot to exchange contact info the first time we met, even though I’m supposed to be teaching you. Anyway, are you free to come to the park today?

Ren: No worries. And yeah, I’m free to go to the park. Just go easy on me please.

Kasumi: Just how hard was practice with Sumire?

Ren: I don’t want to even think about it to be honest. It was really exhausting.

Kasumi: Oh, that’s usual for beginners. And don’t expect any mercy from me either!

Ren: Dang it. I’ll still go to the park, though. See you there.

Kasumi: That’s the spirit! I’ll see you there!

Kasumi packs her school gym clothes into a bag and then sets off to leave. She then walks down the stairs and her mom is on the couch again, reading.

“Mom, I’m going to see Ren today. I’m teaching him gymnastics lessons,” Kasumi notifies.

Akane nods. “Alright, just make sure to be back home soon. Does Sumire know?”

“Yeah, she knows,” Kasumi says. “I’ll see you later!”

Akane just nods and waves at Kasumi, who waves back before exiting the house.

Ren arrives at Inokashira Park, with Morgana in his bag. Kasumi is already on the bench waiting for him in her gym clothes. She waves at him.

“Hey, Kasumi,” Ren greets.

“Hello, Ren. Should we start practicing now?” Kasumi asks.

“Sure,” Ren replies. “Oh, but I gotta let Morgana out now. Last time I left him in the bag and he wasn’t too happy.” Ren opens up his bag and let’s Morgana out.

“You keep a cat in your bag?” Kasumi asks curiously.

Ren nods. “Yep. I take him with me to school as well. Just don’t tell anyone though, I don’t want to give the school a reason to kick me out.”

“Huh, that’s interesting,” Kasumi says. “Your secret’s safe with me. Anyway, let’s start practicing now!”

Ren just groans a bit, while Morgana laughs at Ren’s expense.

Kasumi was even more strict on him than Sumire was. He had to still relearn some of the basics because he couldn’t quite pull them off when he did them again in front of Kasumi. About an hour later, Kasumi decides that Ren has trained enough and allows him to collapse on a bench.

“That was rough,” Ren barely manages to say, still panting. “I think it might have been harder than what I did with Sumire.” Ren pulls out a large canister of water from his bag and downs it all in one gulp.

“Wow, you must be really tired,” Kasumi points out. “Anyway, while we cool off for a while, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what is it?” Ren asks.

“Did you hear about the Phantom Thieves on the news lately? They’re on the news after they apparently sent a calling card to Madarame,” Kasumi asks.

“Oh, yeah, definitely,” Ren replies. “Apparently they only found a cat during the security footage, right?”

Kasumi nods. “That’s right. Oh yeah, that reminds me, do you support the Phantom Thieves, Ren?”

Ren shrugs. “I mean yeah, I guess I support them. They’ve done more than the police and the other adults when it came to Kamoshida, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they exposed Madarame for his supposed crimes as well,” Ren half-lies.

“Oh, that’s an interesting take on the issue,” Kasumi says. “Personally, I’m not really sure. I mean, obviously I’m glad that they took down Kamoshida and all, but I’m still curious about their methods. I don’t think it’s necessarily right to change the hearts of others. I think that they rob that person of their chance to grow as a person, and that might cause them to become over-reliant on others,” Kasumi points out.

Ren nods. “That’s true, but it’s not like Kamoshida was going to grow as a person. He was going to continue to do what he wanted to do, until the Phantom Thieves stopped him,” Ren counters.

“True. I wonder what Goro and Sumire would think about this,” Kasumi says.

Ren is confused. “Who’s Goro?”

“Oh it’s just someone I know,” Kasumi says. Ren notices that she’s smiling a bit more when she mentions him. Maybe they’re close friends? Heck, maybe they were dat— Ren thinks before he’s interrupted by the sounds of chains breaking. Guess the Hope Confidant Rank-Up was worth getting after going through the tortuous practice.

Kasumi looks at the time on her phone. “Oh shoot! I have to go to practice!” Kasumi suddenly exclaims. “It was nice practicing with you, Ren! You did great today!”

“Thanks, Kasumi!” Ren says. “I guess I’ll see you later, then.”

Kasumi nods and the two head their own separate ways. When Ren arrives at Leblanc, he gets a call from Kasumi.

Call Started

“Hey, Ren, I’m gonna make this call short since Sumire’s going to be jealous if I talk too long. Anyway, what did you think of practice today? Do I teach better than Sumire?”

Why would Sumire be jealous? Ren thinks to himself, before responding. “Well, I’m definitely more tired after today than when I did it with Sumire, but I guess that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Still, I wish you could’ve gone a bit easier on me…”

“Ha, well too bad! There’s no rest in order to be the best, Ren! You better put up with it. Anyway, I guess I’ll see you at school sometime. Later.”

“See ya later.”

Call Ended

Kasumi puts her phone away and continues walking down the street to the gym with Sumire next to her.

“Hey! I wasn’t going to be jealous!” Sumire pouts.

Kasumi laughs. “Yeah, you would’ve been.”

“No I wouldn’t!”

The two sisters continue to bicker as they head towards the gym.

After the two head home from gymnastics practice and go into their separate rooms, Kasumi notices that she has a message on her phone. It’s from Akechi.

Akechi (Direct Messages):

Akechi: I was wondering if you wanted to meet up sometime? Does June 5th work for you? Right after school, perhaps?

Kasumi: Sure! Where are we meeting up?

Akechi: How about the cafe again at Kichijoji?

Kasumi: Fine by me. See you there!

Akechi: See you there.

A few days later, it’s June 5th. Kasumi rushes out of her classroom and meets Sumire at the front of the school.

“Hey, Sumire, you have to go home by yourself today,” Kasumi notifies. “I’m meeting with Akechi right after school today.”

Sumire nods. “Alright. Have fun, Kasumi!”

Huh, I was kinda expecting her to tease me about it , Kasumi thinks to herself. The two sisters take their own separate routes.

Akechi’s currently waiting outside of the cafe again. It was another boring day of pretending to be a “detective” again. Honestly, the only thing he kind of looked forward to was meeting Kasumi. But then again, he really didn’t want to see her because she honestly didn’t deserve a friend like him. He never really had any friends before, so he had no idea how to act. And him basically being a serial killer wasn’t going to help either.

“Huh? Goro, is something wrong?” someone asks. Akechi snaps out of his thought process and realizes that Kasumi’s already here.

“N-Nothing! Oh, Kasumi, you’re already here,” Akechi quickly says. “Let’s go in, shall we?”

The two friends take a seat inside the cafe. They both order their hot drinks and Goro gets some pancakes for the two of them. While they wait for their drinks, Kasumi and Akechi overhear some Shujin students talking about them.

“Hey, isn’t that Kasumi Yoshizawa? The gymnast transfer student?” one of the students asks.

“Yeah, I think so,” another student replies. “I wonder who’s that other boy, though.”

“Wait… is it actually him? It’s the Second Detective Prince, Goro Akechi!” the third student exclaims.

“Really? Do you think they’re dating?” the first student asks.

“Huh. The stuck-up goody-two shoes honors students getting together? That would make sense,” the second student replies.

For some reason, part of Akechi wants to scream at them that they’re not dating at the top of his lungs and that Kasumi sure as hell isn’t stuck up, but he resists the urge to do so. He can’t tarnish his reputation over one comment like that. Akechi just groans quietly before putting his hand on his head in frustration. He takes his hand off his head and looks at Kasumi, who’s looking slightly away from him for some reason. He’s also pretty sure that he sees a light dust of pink on Kasumi’s cheeks, but he just assumes that it’s just his imagination.

His thoughts are interrupted by one of the baristas shouting out their order number. He gets up and grabs the pancakes and the drinks, before heading back to the table.

“Kasumi, our food is here,” Akechi says.

“Oh! Thanks, Goro,” Kasumi replies. The two teenagers eat their pancakes and drink their coffee.

By the time Akechi’s done with his second pancake, he notices that Kasumi’s plate is literally empty, with only her coffee cup being full.

“Wow… I’m surprised you’ve already finished your pancakes, Kasumi,” Akechi notes. His face is one of shock.

Kasumi nods. “Yeah, Sumire and I do eat a lot since we do gymnastics. But don’t worry, we burn this all off at practice anyway.”

“I see,” Akechi says, continuing to take a bite out of his third pancake. “Speaking about Sumire, how’s she doing?”

“She’s doing great,” Kasumi says. “Now that she’s met Ren, I think she’s a lot happier now.” Kasumi giggles a bit before continuing. “I guess she’s starting to crush on him now.”

“Oh, that’s great to hear that she’s recovering quickly,” Akechi says.

“It still kind of feels like I didn’t do anything to help her, you know? Like Ren’s been the one who’s been helping her a lot lately,” Kasumi mentions.

“I think you’re helping her by giving her space to grow,” Akechi points out, before finishing the rest of his pancakes. “Like I said before, it’s great that she’s getting help outside of her family. It’s not really helpful if you try to clear every path for her.”

“You have a point there. It kind of reminds me of what I told Ren when he asked me for my opinion of the Phantom Thieves,” Kasumi says, smiling. “Guess great minds think alike?”

Akechi nods. “I guess so. Oh, I have to go to work soon. I’ll see you another time, Kasumi.”

“Actually, I don’t mind walking with you to work,” Kasumi offers. “Plus, we can talk more!”

“Oh, well if it’s alright with you, I’ll accept your offer,” Akechi says. The two teenagers down whatever remains in their cups and leave the cafe.

While Kasumi and Akechi are heading down the street, they stop after noticing a press conference that’s being broadcast. It shows Madarame, who’s tearfully confessing to his crimes on camera. It’s somewhat of a shock to both Kasumi and Akechi, as they didn’t expect the Phantom Thieves to steal Madarame’s heart.

“Phantom Thieves, huh,” Akechi murmurs to himself.

“Guess the calling card was right,” Kasumi says. “Kamoshida could’ve been a coincidence, but this sure isn’t.”

Akechi nods. “I honestly can’t believe it either. To think that the Phantom Thieves actually existed…”

The two continue to walk to the courthouse where Akechi works at.

“Oh yeah, Goro, what’s your opinion on the Phantom Thieves?” Kasumi asks. “It’s just out of curiosity.”

“Well… How do I put this into words…” Akechi starts off. “Similarly to you, I do think that what they’re doing is right, but I think they should still be tried in a court of law.”

“You think they should be arrested?” Kasumi asks. “Doesn’t that seem a little… extreme?”

Akechi shakes his head. “Of course, we’d have to find out their methods first. But it is questionable how they can change someone’s heart. It could be something that can be easily abused in the hands of the wrong people.”

“Huh, well that’s an interesting opinion,” Kasumi notes. “Though I guess you might be right in a way. I don’t think the Phantom Thieves are bad people at all, but if someone were to change Sumire’s heart, for example, I think I’d be at least a little concerned.”

Akechi nods. “My thoughts exactly. We do think alike in some ways, Kasumi.” Akechi suddenly stops. “Oh, we’re at my workplace now. I’ll see you later then, Kasumi.”

“Alright, see you later, Goro!” Kasumi exclaims. “Good luck at work!”

Akechi smiles. “Thanks, Kasumi!” Akechi exclaims. The two wave each other goodbye, before Goro heads inside and Kasumi turns around to head home.

Chapter Text

It was the day right after Madarame's confession and it was the talk of the whole school; someone even drew the confession on the blackboard at the back of Sumire’s classroom. Other than that, however, the rest of the school day was pretty normal. Once the final bell rang, Sumire rushed outside to where she and Kasumi would usually meet. However, Sumire noticed that Kasumi didn’t come out of class yet.

Huh, that’s odd, Kasumi is usually here before me, Sumire thinks to herself. Suddenly her phone beeps with a notification. She takes it out and notices it’s from Kasumi.

Kasumi (Direct Messages):

Kasumi: Sumire, I’m gonna be out of class a bit later today since the lecture isn’t done and the teacher isn’t letting us leave. You can go home by yourself today.

Sumire: Alright Kasumi. Wait, I don’t have an umbrella!

Kasumi: Oh crap you’re right. Ok, I guess you could wait for me to be done.

Sumire: I’ll just wait.

Kasumi: Alright then. See you later!

Sumire sighs. The rain continues to pour down. Looks like she’ll have to wait…

Meanwhile, Ren just gets out of his classroom and begins walking out of the school to head towards Leblanc. However, after going outside the school, he notices that it’s raining.

Crap, Ren thinks to himself. I forgot to bring an umbrella today. However, it seems that he’s not alone, as a certain red-haired kouhai is standing right outside the school doors.

“Oh, Senpai? What a pleasant surprise,” Sumire greets him.

“Hello,” Ren greets. “Forgot an umbrella?”

Sumire nods, frowning. “Kasumi has it. It’s really pouring down, right Senpai?”

“I had a feeling something like this would happen,” Morgana says. “So I snuck in a collapsible umbrella into your bag!”

“Keep packing for me please, kitty,” Ren says, smiling a little.

“I’m NOT a cat!” Morgana exclaims, before suddenly having a mischievous grin. “Should I pack a towel and a change of underwear next time?”

Ren’s smile is completely wiped off his face, being replaced with shock. “What the hell did you say?”

“Senpai?” Sumire asks, confused.

“Huh?” Ren says, slightly embarrassed. “I thought I heard something.”

“Oh, you spaced out there for a second,” Sumire says. “So I’m guessing you don’t have an umbrella either? Maybe if we sprinted to the train station together we could avoid getting too wet…”

“Actually, I have an umbrella,” Ren points out, pulling out the umbrella Morgana put in his bag. “Care to walk together?”

Sumire nods. “That’d be wonderful! Thank you so much, Senpai! Oh, but let me tell Kasumi first.”

Kasumi (Direct Messages):

Sumire: Actually, I’m heading home now. Senpai offered to share his umbrella with me.

Kasumi: Senpai, huh? Alright, thanks for letting me know. Have a safe trip.

Sumire: Thank you!

“Alright, let’s go now, Senpai,” Sumire says. Ren nods and opens up the umbrella, and the two walk out the school gates.

“Thanks again for letting me join you, Senpai,” Sumire thanks Ren again.

“No problem,” Ren says. “Wouldn’t want you getting sick.”

Sumire nods. “That’s true, since prelims are coming up soon, so I didn’t want to risk getting sick.”

“Prelims? For gymnastics?” Ren asks.

“Two huge competitions are coming up,” Sumire points out. “One at the beginning of summer and one near the end. And there’s a qualifier meet to determine who that rep will be.” Sumire sighs and frowns, looking down at the ground.

“What’s wrong?” Ren asks in curiosity and worry.

“It’s just that Kasumi’s always the one who manages to become the rep,” Sumire explains sadly. “It’s probably going to be the same this year.”

“I’ll still cheer you on,” Ren assures, smiling. “I know you can do it this year!”

“I’ll try not to disappoint, Senpai,” Sumire replies, smiling a little. “Oh, we’re already at the station,” Sumire observes, with some disappointment in her tone.

After the two head into the train station, Ren closes his umbrella and Sumire is about to go on her train.

“Thank you for your help today, Senpai!” Sumire exclaims. “I don’t know how I’ll be able to repay you.”

“There’s no need,” Ren replies. “Just make sure to do well at your gymnastics meet!”

Sumire giggles a bit. “Thank you for the kind words, Senpai! I’ll—”

“Hey, isn’t that Yoshizawa-san?” a male student asks.

The female student next to him rolls her eyes. “She gets the VIP treatment at school AND a boyfriend to escort her around? Miss Special Snowflake sure is livin’ on easy street…” Ren’s about to go and confront them, but the two students then walk away. Guess it would be best for him to not start any drama when he already has his criminal record…

“S-Sorry about that, Senpai,” Sumire stammers, lightly blushing from embarrassment. “You shouldn’t have to deal with a misunderstanding like that.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ren reassures. “They’re just jerks.”

“Yeah, you’re right. The same thing happens to Kasumi and me during class as well, since we’re honors students,” Sumire explains. “The school’s expecting us to get strong results in the upcoming competitions as well, even though only one of us can be the rep for our club anyways.” Sumire lets out another sigh. “They even let us skip the cleanup event for tomorrow if we wanted to focus on gymnastics. But both of us just don’t like special treatment.”

“Honestly most students in this school only care about rumors from what it seems,” Ren says. “And the school only cares about their reputation. Just look at the Kamoshida incident.”

Sumire nods. “You’re definitely right, Senpai!” Suddenly, a phone rings, interrupting Sumire. Sumire notices it’s her phone and looks at the caller. “Oh, it’s Kasumi,” Sumire realizes before picking up.

“Hello?” Sumire asks. “Huh? Sorry, my phone’s been acting up since… the incident. Yeah, I’m with Senpai right now. Mhm, wait WHAT?!” Sumire exclaims, blushing. Ren can’t help but manage to chuckle a little.

After some more talking (and some teasing from Kasumi), the call ends, and Sumire puts her phone away.

“O-Oh, sorry about that, Senpai,” Sumire apologizes. “But I have to go home now. Apparently my mom wants me to help with cooking dinner tonight.”

“It’s alright,” Ren says. “Have a safe trip. I’ll see you at the cleanup tomorrow!” The two wave at each other as both their trains arrive at the station, and they head off to their own separate trains.

After spending the day spending time with his confidants, shopping for materials for infiltration tools, and even being forced to down an entire challenge burger at Big Bang Burger (which he totally did not spend the whole night puking), Ren heads off to sleep. He wakes up the next morning, eats his daily breakfast of curry, and gets ready for the cleanup. Ren heads off to the train station to go to Inokashira Park.

Ren talks with Ryuji, Mishima, Ann, and Dr. Maruki before the cleanup begins. As Ren is picking up trash in the park, he can overhear his teammates gossiping about him. At this point, Ren’s already pretty used to the rumors. That doesn’t mean that he sometimes wishes they would stop, however…

Finally, after what seemed like hours of work, the Student Council President Makoto Niijima announces the end of the cleanup event. Ren ends up getting ditched by his group right away (although to be honest, he already kind of expected that to happen). Ren sits down on a bench, talking with Morgana before the Yoshizawa twins come up to him.

“Oh! Senpai!” Sumire exclaims, running towards Ren. Kasumi giggles in the background, heading towards Ren as well. “What happened to your group?” Sumire asks.

“They ditched me,” Ren replies.

“O-Oh,” Sumire says.

“So all of us are in the same situation, then,” Kasumi realizes. “Hey, why don’t us three get our soup together?”

“Sure!” Ren and Sumire say.

Ren gets soup for the three of them. However, one thing Ren notices is that by the time he’s done with a third of his soup, both of the twins’ bowls are scraped clean.

“Holy cr—” Ren stammers. “Did you two finish already?”

“He has the same reaction Goro did,” Kasumi giggles. She then looks at her phone and then realizes something. “Oh shoot, I forgot that I was meeting up with Goro today! I’ll see you two lovebirds later!” Kasumi then gets up and leaves.

“H-Hey! That’s not fair!” Sumire protests, her face red. “I didn’t get a chance to tease her back!”

Ren laughs a bit, making Sumire blush a little more in embarrassment, before deciding to change the subject a little. “Oh yeah, I’ve asked Kasumi this question the last time we met, but she gave a really vague answer, so I’m gonna ask you: Who’s Goro?”

Sumire shrugs. “Honestly, I don’t personally know him all too well. I’ve met with him at the TV station, since he’s a detective, but that’s about it.”

“Wait, he’s a detective?” Ren asks in shock.

Sumire nods. “He’s the Second Advent of the Detective Prince, as they say.”

Detective Prince, huh. I didn’t know that Kasumi had connections to some important people, Ren thinks to himself. He smirks before asking another question.

“Are they dating?”

Sumire shakes her head. “They’ve gotten quite close ever since the… incident I told you about on the rooftop. I wouldn’t say they’re dating, though. Just friends. For some reason, even though he’s a detective, I can’t help but feel something’s off about him. And the funny thing is, most people treat you like some kind of delinquent, but everything seems… perfect about you.”

Wait a minute… Did I say that last part out loud?! Sumire realizes to herself. It’s too late, however, as Ren’s already smirking.

“I’ll take it as a love confession, then.”

Sumire blushes heavily again in embarrassment. “Wait! I didn’t mean it like that, Senpai!” Ren laughs at Sumire's expense, until suddenly, Ren sees Sumire get out of her seat, flip in the air, snatch a balloon flying away, and roll to the ground all in a blur. She then hands the balloon back to the little kid who let go of it.
“What the hell?” Ren mumbles to himself.

“Good thing you signed up for gymnastics training,” Morgana notes. “That would definitely come in handy in the Metaverse.”

“Sorry about that,” Sumire says, walking back to the bench.

“That was… impressive,” Ren compliments. “I didn’t know you could do stuff like that.”

“Oh, you’ll be able to do things like that soon,” Sumire points out. “It’s pretty basic stuff, and you’re taking lessons from both Yoshizawa sisters!”

“That was just the basics?” Ren asks, in shock. “I definitely can’t wait to see what the advanced stuff looks like.”

“Well, why don’t we start with some more gymnastics practice then?” Sumire asks. “We’re already in our gym clothes anyway, and basically everyone has gone home by now.”

“I’ll take you up on that offer,” Ren says. That doesn’t mean that he’s going to enjoy it, though…

After an hour of practice, Ren is finally allowed a break on the bench. He immediately sits down and takes out a soda can from his bag and downs it all in one shot.

“So how was practice today?” Sumire asks curiously. “Did I do a good job?”

“Yeah, you did!” Ren compliments. “It’s just that I don’t think I’m used to it yet.”

“It’s like that for everyone for the first couple of practices,” Sumire points out. “You’ll be able to last longer eventually.”

“Hopefully,” Ren says. “It’s getting late now. I’ll take you to the train station.”

“Well, if you insist, Senpai,” Sumire says. The two leave the park and head to the train station.

On the way there, Sumire is suddenly stopped by a man.

“You go to Shujin, right?” the slimy man asks. “I’ve heard that things there have been rough lately. Do you want to talk about it somewhere?”

“Thank you for your concern. However, we’re in a hurry right now, so if you’d excuse us—” Sumire barely says, afraid for her life. Part of her knows that she should just book it out of there as soon as possible, but her feet are practically glued to the ground in fear.

“There’s no need to be shy. How about I put my number in your phone so you can call me later?” the man asks creepily. He then grabs her by the arm.

“You’re hurting her. Let her go. NOW,” Ren immediately says, his blood boiling. Even though it reminds him of the incident that got him put on probation, he knows for a fact that Sumire wouldn’t betray him and that he couldn’t just overlook this. Ren shoots a deadly glare at the man.

It seems to work, as the man is shocked (and even a bit afraid for his own life), letting go of Sumire. Almost immediately, Sumire runs over and hides behind Ren, gripping his shoulders. The other people in the area begin looking at the three of them. If he stayed for any longer, he’d be in trouble.

“Oh, what the fuck,” the slimy man mumbles to himself. He then snaps at Sumire, “What are you getting so jumpy about? Like you’re anything special!” The creepy man runs off.

Sumire continues holding on to Ren’s shoulders for a while until she notices that they’re in public and the man is no longer there. She lets go of his shoulders and immediately bows towards Ren.

“Thank you so much! That man was even more frightening than he may have appeared to you…” Sumire says in gratitude and relief.

“No problem. Are you ok?” Ren asks in concern.

“I’m fine. I really appreciate it!” Sumire reassures. “Oh, but what made you step in?”

“I couldn’t just stand there. I had to do something,” Ren points out.

Sumire nods. “I see… Well, thank you anyway. Let’s keep walking to the train station, shall we?”

“Yep. Let’s just hope no more creepy pedophiles are in our way again,” Ren says.

The two continue their walk towards the train station, and luckily for them no one bothers them throughout the rest of the trip.

“Oh, my train is here already,” Sumire notes when they arrive at the train station. “Well, I guess I’ll see you soon, Senpai! And thank you again about what happened today!”

“No problem, Sumire. I’ll see you soon!” Ren replies back, waving at Sumire as she waves back while sprinting to the train just in time before the doors close. Ren then begins walking towards his own train back to Leblanc.

Chapter Text

Akechi is currently quickly fixing up his attire before heading on the TV set. In his opinion, being on the stage is the worst part. Whenever he’s stuck with paperwork (even though that in of itself is boring enough already), at least he doesn’t have to act all “charismatic” and “well-mannered.” He’s allowed to curse under his breath (or out loud if at home), and have no consequences for it. But, no, he just had to be on the stupid TV show for the damn Shujin students.

Speaking about Shujin students, he managed to talk to a couple of them in the hallway yesterday. He honestly hadn’t really talked to any students outside of his school other than Kasumi (and technically Sumire as well, but they didn’t really interact much), so it was a little nice interacting with more of them. Well, it’s not like it mattered anyway since he probably wasn't going to interact with any of them from now on.

“Mr. Akechi’s coming on!” a veteran AD announces to the audience.

Shit, that’s my cue, Akechi thinks to himself, before finally finishing fixing himself up and proceeding to walk towards the TV set.

Meanwhile, Ren’s curious as to whether the “Goro” Sumire was referring to was the one that was going to head up stage. So far, the clues seemed to match up. Both were detectives, appeared on a TV station, and well, were named Goro, obviously. It was likely that they were the same person. Still, if Ren had the chance, maybe he could go up to Goro and ask him about Kasumi and Sumire. No, that’d be too awkward—

“Ren? Ren?” Ryuji asks, poking at Ren’s shoulder. “Don’t tell me you’re falling asleep already, man. Even I’m awake through this bullshit.”

“H-Huh? Oh shoot, what happened? I was just thinking,” Ren says, almost as if he actually had fallen asleep.

“I was just asking if that was the same guy from yesterday,” Ryuji says. He points to Akechi on stage.

“Oh. Yeah, definitely,” Ren says. Well, maybe I should start paying attention now… Ren thinks to himself.

Eventually, the interview with Akechi is over. The Shujin students begin exiting the auditorium.

“Hey, it kinda seemed like what he was saying might be right,” Ann points out.

Ryuji shakes his head. “He made it sound like we’re the baddies. I don’t like it.”

“But that stuff about the police. Do you think it’s real?” Ann asks, worried.

Morgana pops out of Ren’s bag. “He can say whatever he wants. The justice of it all is something we can decide for ourselves.” Ann, Ryuji, and Ren all collectively nod.

“Oh sorry, I gotta go take a leak. Can you guys wait here? I’ll be right back,” Ryuji asks, before dashing off to the bathroom.

Ann shakes her head. “Oh my god… I’m going to keep going, okay?” Ann leaves.

“Oh, it’s you!” a boy’s voice yells throughout the auditorium. Ren looks up and it’s Akechi. Morgana quickly hides back in Ren’s bag.

“I’m glad I found you. I wanted to thank you in person,” Akechi starts off. “To paraphrase Hegel, advancement cannot occur without both thesis and antithesis.”

Ren is confused. “What is that supposed to even mean?”

“Haha, my apologies. What I mean is that our discussion was quite meaningful,” Akechi clarifies.

“Few people around me are so willing to speak their minds as freely as you did earlier. Adults are only interested in using the young, while they simply do as the adults say. There are too many irresponsible people in these modern times. I can understand why you’d support the Phantom Thieves. Honestly, you remind me of another Shujin student who goes to your school.”

Ren knows it’s that Goro now. “You mean Kasumi Yoshizawa?”

Akechi is stunned. How the hell does he even know that? Akechi wonders to himself. Wait, there’s that Ren Kasumi mentioned that helped Sumire, right? This must be him!

“Is your name Ren Amamiya, by any chance?” Akechi questions. “The one that is helping Sumire?”

Ren nods. “Yep, that’s me. You’re the one who’s dating Kasumi, right?” Ren asks, with the usual smirk on his face.

Akechi wants to smack Ren across the face. Does every single fucking person think that we’re dating? Akechi wonders to himself. But then again, he needs to retain his public image, so obviously he can’t do that.

Ren, on the other hand, is completely unaware of Akechi’s violent urges, but he does notice him tense up a little. “Bad joke, I’m sorry,” Ren quickly apologizes. Luckily, Akechi seems to accept his apology, so that’s a relief.

“It’s alright,” Akechi assures. “I’m just a little tired of getting that all the time. Anyway, where were we? Oh right, the Phantom Thieves. So, as you may know, since they have special talents…” Akechi continues.

The two teens continue discussing their thoughts of the Phantom Thieves, and they exchange contact information. Ren also notices he has a new Confidant now, the Justice Arcana, in Goro Akechi.

Meanwhile, Sumire’s still at school, thinking about the upcoming meet rather than paying attention to the teacher’s lectures. She’s already expecting Kasumi to become the club representative this year. After all, Kasumi already had her own style. Coach Hiraguchi did say that she was improving in terms of rediscovering her own style (maybe it was because of spending time with Ren?), but she still had a long way to go. No way she was going to be ready in time for the qualifier meet. The bell rings, signalling the end of class, and also resulting in Sumire to begin packing up her stuff to meet Kasumi at the school gym.

The school allowed the two twins to borrow the school gym today (or Friday), Saturday, and Monday, so what Kasumi and Sumire decided to do was to practice together today, then Kasumi would practice alone on Saturday, and Sumire would have the gym to herself on Monday. When Sumire reached the gym, she noticed that Kasumi wasn’t there. After waiting for about 5 minutes, Kasumi came running down the halls.

“Sorry I’m late! Our teacher dismissed us late today,” Kasumi apologizes. “Anyway, let’s practice, shall we?”

Sumire just gives a simple nod and the two walk into the gym to practice.

After the two practice their gymnastics for about an hour, and are on the train station heading home, Kasumi pulls out her phone after receiving a notification from Akechi. Kasumi opens the message instantly without even thinking about it.

Akechi (Direct Messages):

Akechi: Met Ren at the TV station today.

Kasumi: Oh really? I heard there was a field trip for second-years today. How was he? Sumire says he’s nice.

“You didn’t have to tell him that!” Sumire exclaims.

“H-Hey! Give me some privacy, Sumire!” Kasumi snaps back.

Akechi: He was a good debate partner on the Phantom Thieves and their actions. We even exchanged contact info.

Kasumi: Oh. He does seem to support the Phantom Thieves strongly. And you might not want to mention exchanging contact info with Ren in front of Sumire. She’s gonna get jealous.

“No I’m not!” Sumire snaps. Kasumi almost yells in shock before holding her phone so the screen is facing away from Sumire.

Akechi: He did assume we were dating, though. That was honestly a bit irritating.

Kasumi: Oh. I’m so gonna get him back at our next practice session.

Akechi: Practice session?

Kasumi: Oh yeah, I’m teaching him gymnastics. I mean, well technically Sumire offered first, but yeah, we’re both teaching him.

Akechi: And… you didn’t ask me if I wanted lessons?

Kasumi: Are you jealous? :P

Akechi: No, I was joking. I don’t have time for gymnastics lessons nor do I want to learn gymnastics anyway.

Kasumi: Oh. Well, that’s a bummer. Was kind of looking forward to teaching you.

Akechi: Well, I suppose that means you could spend some more time teaching Ren, right? Anyway, I have to go back to work now. My coworker is yelling at me to stop looking at my phone.

Kasumi: Oh. XD Good luck! See you later.

Akechi: Thank you! See you later.

Just as Kasumi puts away her phone, the train station arrives at their stop. The two Yoshizawa twins follow the rest of the passengers out of the train.

The next day, after school…

Kasumi heads home after spending almost two hours practicing in the school gym. However, she notices that the only person home is her mother. Obviously her father was still working at the TV studio, but where was Sumire?

“Mom?” Kasumi asks, before putting down her stuff and sitting on the couch. “Where’s Sumire?”

“Oh, she just went to the store to get some ingredients for something,” Akane replies on the other end of the couch while watching TV. “Apparently she’s making bentos for herself and ‘Senpai’ next Monday.”

Kasumi smiles. “Didn’t you tell her that making bentos is a couples thing?”

Akane shrugs. “I could have. I was just giving you the opportunity to tease her when she comes home. I mean, I could do it for you if you don’t want to do it.”

“I’m doing it,” Kasumi replies. “That’s my speciality, anyway.”

Akane laughs. “You say that like you wouldn’t make bentos for Akechi if you were better at cooking.”

“I wouldn’t,” Kasumi replies (although a little embarrassed seeing as her cheeks are a tad bit pink). “Bentos take too long to make anyway.”

Akane’s about to respond to tease Kasumi further before she hears the sound of the door being unlocked and opened.

“I’m home!” Sumire says, carrying three bags full of groceries.

“So… you’re making bentos for Ren on Monday?” Kasumi asks teasingly.

Sumire nods. “Yeah, but I also got enough ingredients for you, Mom, and Dad so all of you wouldn’t feel left out.”

“Aww, our little Sumire’s going to be a wonderful wife to Ren someday!” Akane teases.

“Mom! I was supposed to say that!” Kasumi protests. Akane just ignores Kasumi’s protests and continues watching TV.

Sumire’s cheeks are beet red. “W… W-Wife!? W-What do you mean by that!?”

Kasumi laughs. “Making bentos is like a thing that couples do. You seriously didn’t know that?”

Sumire shakes her head, still embarrassed. “I-I d-didn’t know.” Suddenly, her face is turned to one of shock and despair. “W-Wait, what if Senpai takes it the wrong way? I-I don’t think I can handle teasing from him too! What if he doesn’t like it?”

Kasumi shrugs. “Hey, calm down. He’ll probably enjoy the bentos. He’ll probably enjoy the teasing too.”

“Kasumi!” Sumire pouts. Kasumi continues to tease Sumire before Akane finally steps in and tells them to go do their homework.

On Sunday night, Ren’s about to head to sleep when he gets a text message from Sumire. He opens it up.

Sumire (Direct Messages):

Sumire: Hello, Senpai! Are you free after school tomorrow?

Ren knows that he’s probably blocked out for pretty much the entire week (maybe even more). The Phantom Thieves are still trying to find their next target, and with the student council president on their tail, he doubts he’ll have any free time to have with Sumire.

Ren: No, sorry about that. I’m actually pretty busy this week, so I’m not even sure when I’ll have free time. I’ll let you know when I’m available.

Sumire: Oh. I see, no worries. Goodbye for now, then.

Ren: Goodbye.

Sumire sighs. Senpai’s busy for the whole week? Sumire wonders to herself. However, she did say that she was going to be making bentos for the family tomorrow morning anyway, so she had to sleep early. After turning off the lights and pulling the covers over her, Sumire begins to drift off into sleep.

The week goes by really slowly for Sumire. She did wake up early on Monday morning to make the bentos for the rest of the family (which fortunately turned out great), as it wasn’t really fair for them to not get bentos (especially since Sumire already told her mother that she was going to cook on Monday). Every hour or so, Sumire would check her phone to see if she’d gotten a text message from Ren, but no new messages had arrived. She’d then go to sleep feeling a little bit disappointed, and this continued the next day.

It’s been 9 days since Sumire sent the text. Ren’s on his bed, prepared to go to sleep. With Makoto now being a Phantom Thief, the Phantom Thieves were able to secure a route to the treasure much more quickly and efficiently, managing to explore the entire Palace just today. All that was left was to send the calling card (which the Phantom Thieves agreed to send 3 days from today on Friday) and wait for the change of heart. Tomorrow morning, Ren would be able to spend some more time with his confidants and friends. Speaking of which, that reminded him of the text he got from Sumire. He pulled out his phone and began typing a message.

Sumire (Direct Messages):

Ren: Alright, I’m finally free tomorrow. Where do you wanna meet up?

Sumire: Oh, that’s great to hear! Thank you! Anyway, do you want to meet up at the school cafeteria right after school? I’m going to bring some food to eat, don’t worry.

Ren: Alright, sounds great. I’ll see you there!

Sumire: See you tomorrow, Senpai! Oh wait, make sure to bring your gym clothes.

Ren: Why?

Sumire: I got permission from the school to use the school gym tomorrow, so I wanted us to train together there after we eat our food in the cafeteria.

Ren: Oh, I see. Well, I’ll make sure to bring my gym clothes. See you tomorrow, Sumire.

Sumire: See you tomorrow, Senpai!

As she finishes typing out that message, words cannot express the joy and excitement that Sumire feels. The next morning, Sumire gets up early to make the bentos and makes the bento for Ren with extra care. Akane and Kasumi teased Sumire a bit, but honestly, Sumire was too excited to care.

That day, Sumire couldn’t wait for school to end. When the bell rings, she dashes across the hallways as fast as she could and gets to the cafeteria in no time. Being one of the first people there, she saves some seats for her and Ren.

Not too long after she came to the cafeteria, Sumire could see that Ren was walking through the cafeteria doors. He was looking around (probably looking for her), so she waved her hand to get his attention. Ren notices her and heads towards her table, before taking a seat.

“Here’s your bento,” Sumire says, handing Ren his bento.

“Oh, thank you,” Ren says in gratitude. Just by looking at the food, he can already feel his mouth start to water.

“You really need to regulate your diet in gymnastics, so I’ve been making my own food a lot,” Sumire explains. “So, I decided to make you a bento!”

“It looks really good,” Ren compliments. “I can’t wait to dig in.”

Sumire smiles. “Thank you, Senpai! This is actually the first time cooking for someone besides my family. I actually made this with your body type in mind, and knowing how much you exercise.”

“Wow, I’m really touched,” Ren says, smiling.

“Then I’m glad that I put all of that effort in,” Sumire says beaming. She then begins explaining the nutritional content of the bento. “The chicken and the eggs are to help you with fatigue. There are some beans in there, too, and it’s on brown rice. Weight control’s important for gymnasts, but we also need to make sure—” Sumire cuts herself off, after noticing that Ren’s more focused on the bento and not on her explanation. “Oh sorry, I’m getting too focused on the gymnastics part. Anyway, let’s dig in!”

Ren watches Sumire pull out her own bento, and he's pretty sure it could probably feed a small family.

“Is that all for you?” Ren asks in disbelief.

Sumire nods. “Of course! I’ll need every last grain of rice.”

Ren looks unconvinced.

“Why do you look skeptical, Senpai?” Sumire questions. “Don’t worry, I’ve done the math on calories. I’ll burn this off at practice.”

“Well, if you say so,” Ren says. He then takes his chopsticks and picks up some of the chicken. It’s not bad at all, it’s actually really good, but for some reason it tastes familiar.

Sumire notices Ren not chewing for a while and is a bit nervous.

 “D-Do you not like it?” Sumire asks nervously.

“It’s good,” Ren says. “I’m just trying to figure out what flavor it is.”

“Oh, I used curry powder,” Sumire says, but for some reason she’s panicking. She stands up out of her seat. “Are you not a fan of curry, Senpai? Should I get mayonnaise? Soy sauce? Miso? Maybe get some salt from Dr. Maruki? No wait, I should just buy you something new!”

“Woah, calm down,” Ren says. “Of course I’m a fan of curry. I eat it everyday. And let’s just eat, I’m enjoying it, really,” Ren reassures.

“Oh, ok,” Sumire says, sitting back down. “Alright then, let’s continue eating.”

The two Shujin students begin to eat their bentos. Ren has no problem finishing his food, Sumire’s cooking was really delicious.

“Whew, that was delicious,” Sumire says, smiling. “Thank you for finishing your meal, Senpai! Even though I panicked a bit at the beginning.”

Ren chuckles. “It was really good. There’s no way I couldn’t finish it.”

“Thank you, Senpai!” Sumire says, beaming.

“I’m just curious though, why a bento of all foods? I’m not complaining, but are you sure that there isn’t an underlying reason to that? Maybe something… romantic?” Ren asks teasingly, with a grin on his face.

“S-Senpai! Not you too!” Sumire whines, blushing. “I just wanted to make a bento to show my appreciation for you!”

Ren is holding back a laugh. “I’m sorry, Sumire. I was just kidding. I wasn’t expecting you to take it so seriously, though.”

“Oh… ok,” Sumire says, with a small hint of disappointment in her tone. “Well anyway, now that we’ve gotten our nutrients, it’s time for the next phase!” Sumire exclaims, changing the subject. “I don’t mean to be too demanding, but I’m going to train you even harder than before! Make sure you keep up!”

Ren sighs. Looks like there’s going to be a long, tiring gymnastics training session ahead of him.

After nearly collapsing on the floor once, Sumire decides that Ren has trained enough.

“Alright, Ren-senpai, I think that's enough practice for today,” Sumire says.

Ren nods and begins sitting down, taking out a Dr. Salt NEO, and chugging it down in one-shot. He then begins trying to pace his breathing. Honestly, Ren’s not sure why he can barely do two hours of gymnastics, but can go explore Palaces and fight Shadows hours on end. At least he did manage to increase his stamina and get another Confidant Rank-Up at the end of the torturous session.

“Well, I'm beat,” Ren says, speaking up. “But still, thanks for the practice session. Especially since you have a gymnastics meet coming up.”

“It was no problem at all, Senpai!” Sumire reassures, beaming. “And besides, I still got some practice in with you, so don't worry about me.”

Ren nods. Oh shoot, I have to get supplies in preparation for stealing Kaneshiro's treasure, Ren realizes to himself. He also remembers that he was planning to visit some of his confidants as well. “Hey, Sumire? I gotta go now, I have to make a few errands at the store. Thanks for the practice!”

“Ok, Senpai! I have to go to gymnastics practice soon anyways. I'll see you soon!” Sumire responds.

“Alright, see ya!” Ren says with a smile. The two wave towards each other before heading their own separate ways.

Chapter Text

Ren and the rest of the Phantom Thieves just stole Kaneshiro’s heart yesterday, so all they needed to do was to wait for the change of heart. That meant that he could spend some more time with Sumire. Then again, he wasn’t entirely sure as to whether she even had free time, considering her gymnastics competition was only days away. Luckily it seemed that Ren didn’t have to worry about that, as he got a text from Sumire.

Sumire (Direct Messages):

Sumire: Senpai, I have a favor to ask for today! It’s not really a gymnastics thing, but… Would you mind coming with me on a shopping trip?

Ren: Sure, I can do that. Don’t you have gymnastics practice though? 

Sumire doesn’t respond for a while, leaving Ren confused.

Sumire: Thank you!!! And I just got out of gymnastics practice for today, so don’t worry about me. Sorry. My phone always seems to be acting up from that incident…

Ren: It’s fine, don’t worry about it.

Sumire: Thank you! I think I’m fine now. So about the place… it’s in Kichijoji. You know it… I’ll send you the location of the shop. I’ll be waiting!

Ren: Alright, see you there!

In no time at all, Ren manages to get to the glasses shop. He notices Sumire already there, with her hair tied up, and her glasses missing.

“Sorry for dragging you out here… I need to get a pair of glasses. I’ve been wanting to come here for a while, but I never had a chance to drop by.”

“Oh, did you break your old glasses?” Ren asks, curiously. “Now that I think about it, you haven’t worn your glasses in a while now.”

Sumire shakes her head. “It’s not for me, Senpai, I still have mine. It’s just that I don’t wear them when I go practice gymnastics with you. I’m looking to get my dad a present. And you seem like a real glasses buff, so I wanted to get your advice.”

Ren shakes his head. “Not really, these glasses are fake. I just wear them to look more unassuming at school, with my record and all.”

“Oh, really?” Sumire asks in surprise. “Oh yeah, why do you have a record in the first place, Senpai? What happened?”

“Well, I guess I can give you a brief summary,” Ren says. He then proceeds to explain how he was falsely accused of assault and how he was sent to live in Tokyo. After finishing his story, he could see a flash of rage in Sumire’s eyes, which kind of shocked him. He didn’t expect Sumire to get mad over his story.

“How could they?!” Sumire almost yells. “That’s unfair!”

Ren nods, before saying, “Yeah, it really wasn’t. But it’s all in the past for now, and it’s not like I can really change it anyway. And plus, we should be focusing on getting some glasses for your dad, right?”

“Oh, right! I’m so sorry Senpai!” Sumire apologizes.

“It’s alright,” Ren reassures. “Anyway, what should I do?”

“Could you try on a couple pairs for me? I’d like to get some visual reference.”

Ren nods. “Sure, I can do that.”

Sumire tries the first pair of glasses on Ren. “Wow, these really work for you Senpai! You look so cool! What do you think?”

“It’s a pretty modern look,” Ren says. “But do they suit your dad, though?”

“Hmm, right—maybe a little too hip for my dad,” Sumire points out, with a hint of disappointment in her tone. “But your input’s been really helpful so far! Would you mind poking around with me for a bit longer?”

Ren nods. “Of course!”

Sumire beams. “Thank you! Let’s pick up the pace!”

Sumire begins trying different pairs of glasses on Ren, but she puts some on Ren for fun as well. Unfortunately, Sumire can’t find a pair of glasses that would suit her dad.

“Sorry… I can’t decide,” Sumire says. “A lot of them are really good, but none of them have really clinched it for me yet.” Sumire sighs, before mumbling. “If Kasumi were here, she’d be able to know what to pick right away. I’m just useless.”

“Whoa, don’t talk about yourself like that,” Ren says, being supportive. “Just trust your instincts, and don’t overthink it. I know you can pick a pair, Sumire, you just need to believe in yourself.”

“You know, you’re right! I’m the one who needs to make the call!” Sumire exclaims. She then picks up a pair of red glasses. “…I’m just going off a gut feeling, but… I’ll pick this pair. I don’t know how to describe it. It just seems perfect for my dad somehow.”

“Good choice. I know he’ll love it,” Ren compliments. “And see? You were able to pick the glasses. Not Kasumi, not me. It was you. Remember that.”

“Thank you, Senpai! You somehow know the words to cheer me up,” Sumire responds. “And yes, I think I can be confident in this one. In fact, I know he’ll like it!”

Sumire ends up going to the counter and paying for the glasses. The two then head outside of the glasses store.

“Thank you so much for coming here with me today! I ended up with a great present. All thanks to you, Ren-senpai!”

“Not a problem at all,” Ren reassures.

Sumire giggles. “Well, I’ve still got to make it up to you. Let’s go to Inokashira Park after this! I still need to train for the gymnastics competition coming up in three days and you could practice with me!”

“…If I’m being honest, trying to pick out glasses was really setting off my anxiety,” Sumire admits. “Especially with the competition coming up. I mean, everyone pretty much knows that Kasumi’s going to get the role anyway. I’ve been trying to develop my own style like what Coach said, but it’s not perfect yet.”

“You’ll do great, I’m sure of it,” Ren reassures. “And hey, even if Kasumi does end up getting first place, at least you tried your best. There’s always the next competition, Sumire. And you’ll still have Kasumi and me backing you up.”

Sumire nods. “I think I’m starting to understand now. I feel like I’m getting some of my confidence back after talking to you, Ren-senpai. And having your support makes me even more determined to make that happen.”

“We’ll work at it together,” Ren reassures.

Sumire beams, with a noticeable blush on her cheeks. “This is strange… I don’t know if I should be feeling like this. I want to give my best performance, but it’s like I’d be doing it for you as much as for myself… o-or something like that!” She’s looking sheepishly at Ren until she sees a smirk beginning to form across his lips. After being teased by him so many times, she knows what that means. Oh no… Sumire thinks to herself.

“Isn’t this your second love confession, Sumire?” Ren asks her. She instantly turns bright red.

“SENPAI!” Sumire exclaims. Ren can’t help but chuckle a little from her embarrassment.

“B-But I did mean what I said, t-though,” Sumire points out, despite still being a little embarrassed.

“I know, I just couldn’t help it. You’re too fun to tease,” Ren points out.

Sumire sighs, covering her face with her hands. “L-Let’s just go to the park already, Senpai.”

“Well, if you insist,” Ren says. The two proceed to head towards Inokashira Park, but Sumire keeps her mouth shut in fear of getting teased again.

Once Ren and Sumire have both changed into their gym uniforms (with Morgana being nice enough to pack it for Ren), they begin their gymnastics lesson. Surprisingly, Ren seemed to not be as exhausted this time around, and he even managed to learn some more evasive tricks that he could probably use in the Metaverse. And as a nice bonus, he got a Confidant Rank-Up at the end of the session.

“You did really well, Senpai!” Sumire compliments. “I think you’re getting the gracefulness of the moves down really well.”

“Thanks, Sumire,” Ren replies. “I’m not as tired as I normally would be this time. Maybe it’s because I’m getting used to it?”’

Sumire shrugs. “Maybe. You’re definitely improving! Soon, under Kasumi’s and my teachings, you’ll be the best gymnast!”

“Actually, I’ve only done it with Kasumi like once so far,” Ren points out. “She hasn’t really contacted me about it, and I kinda forgot about it since I’m already doing a lot of gymnastics practice with you already.”

“Oh, really? That’s a bit of a surprise,” Sumire notes, before mumbling to herself.

Ren’s not sure if he heard her correctly, but he was almost certain that she said something along the lines of, “ Guess I can finally have Senpai to myself. ” He would have teased her about it if she said it a bit louder, but since he wasn’t too sure about it, he decided to spare her for the moment.

“Anyway, practice is dismissed,” Sumire says. “It’s getting a bit late.”

“Alright, thanks!” Ren says. “See you later, Sumire!”

“See you later, Senpai!” Sumire exclaims.

Once Ren finally heads back to Leblanc, he gets a call from Sumire.

Call Started

“Hello, Ren-senpai. Are you free to talk now?”

“Yeah, definitely. What’s going on?”

“So I already gave my dad the glasses we picked out today. And it suits him even better than I imagined! He was so happy with them! There was just a small price though…”

“I’m glad to hear that! But what’s the price?”

“I got teased by my mom and Kasumi when I told my dad that you helped me pick it out. Please, Senpai, can you stop teasing me? I don’t think my heart can handle three people teasing me everyday…”

“I’ll think about it. Probably not, though.”

Sumire can be heard sighing on the other end of the phone.

“Anyway, I think this helped me to feel a little more confident! And thanks to you, I even feel like my gymnastics are going to go better now. To be honest, I’m sick of wasting my time worrying. Whatever I’m up against, I’m just gonna give it my best shot.”

“That’s the spirit! I’m glad you understand.”

“But actions always speak louder than words, right? I’ll prove I’m not all talk!” There's a small pause before Sumire speaks again, her tone more timid than before. “Oh… C-Can you go to the meet by any chance?”

Ren remembers that that’s the day after Kaneshiro is about to leak their pictures, and hopefully when his heart gets changed. He remembers that the group was going to get together to study.

“Unfortunately, no. I’ll definitely try to make it to the next one, though.”

“O-Oh... I-I see. N-No worries, Senpai… But I have to go now. I hope we can talk again later!” Ren winces slightly after Sumire's disappointed tone, and feels a tinge of regret.

“Same here. See you later, Sumire.”

Call Ended

Morgana pops out of Ren’s bag once Ren sits down on his bed in Leblanc’s attic. “So, did you make note of the new moves she taught you? I mean, they’re for gymnastics, of course, but we can definitely repurpose them to dodging attacks in the Metaverse.”

“Yeah, I already noticed, Morgana,” Ren says. “Anyway, we gotta go meet Chihaya soon, so we don’t have any time to waste.”

“I suppose you’re right. Let’s go!”

Ren picks up his bag with Morgana in it and says goodbye to Sojiro before leaving.

Chapter Text

Principal Kobayakawa is currently at his desk, reading over the letter of resignation that Makoto sent him. He’s enraged at the letter, fuming in his seat. How would he be able to stop the Phantom Thieves, now that bribery didn’t work? Blackmail? But it’d be impossible to blackmail her, she’s a perfect honors student. He knows he has to find a way to get him out of this mess and get the Phantom Thieves stopped. After all, those are direct orders from Shido, and he most certainly doesn’t want to have a mental shutdown from his personal assassin, Akechi. And plus, the school was already having a crumbling reputation, with the Kamoshida scandal being known to the public and the fact that it was suspected that the Phantom Thieves attended Shujin Academy, or were somehow related to the school. As Principal Kobayakawa sighs in frustration, he notices Makoto walking into his office.

“Care to explain?” Kobayakawa barks at Makoto.

“I believe in what I wrote… ‘The Phantom Thieves are just,’” Makoto responds calmly.

Principal Kobayakawa is shocked. Perhaps she has an idea as to who they may be? “Do you know who they are?”

“No, I’m nowhere close,” Makoto lies, much to Kobayakawa’s disappointment. “However, after considering all the facts, I concluded there are no errors in their acts or principles. Thus, upon deeming them on the right side of justice, I have decided to end the investigation.”

“But that’s impossible!” Kobayakawa exclaims.

Makoto raises an eyebrow. “Impossible? May I see the evidence you have that leads you to believe so?”

Kobayakawa is stumped. He sighs. “I was just speaking to the director of a prestigious college about your letter of recommendation too…” he says as a last ditch attempt.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work. “There will be no need for that,” Makoto assures. “I will get into a good college on my own merit. Please excuse me.” She then leaves before Kobayakawa can even respond.

“Hey! We’re not done here!” Kobayakawa exclaims, but it’s too late. He sighs before picking up his phone and making a call to the SIU Director.

“Sir, it’s me. I apologize for bothering you like this…” Kobayakawa starts off.

The SIU Director immediately interrupts him. “Just hurry up with what you have to say, I don’t have all day. Are you making progress?”

“Yes, I am making progress. However, I have stumbled upon some difficulties…”

“Well then, overcome them,” the SIU Director barks, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Still, why would someone as important as you be interested in a petty case like this?” Kobayakawa asks. He immediately regrets it.

“Oh, so you’re giving up? I hope you enjoy your last moments on Earth, then. I’ll make sure to notify Shido then.”

“Wait! T-That’s not what I meant! I will investigate with all the resources available to me,” Kobayakawa stammers. “Of course… Um, I should be able to let you know relatively soon.”

“And are you sure you’ll bring positive results?” the SIU Director asks.

“Y-Yes, I will bring good news,” Kobayakawa reassures, but his voice cracks a little. “Well then, thank you for your—”

The SIU Director hangs up on him. Kobayakawa sighs and puts his phone away.

“Dammit,” Kobayakawa mutters. “Those pesky thieves… And now that Niijima-san’s resigned…”

He then shakes his head. He can’t let himself get killed and have the school’s reputation ruined, which in turn means his reputation is ruined. He then sighs, before finally saying,

“Fine. I’ll do it myself.”

Meanwhile, Akechi is finally done wrapping up on the Madarame case. He stretches from his desk and is about to head home for the day until Sae Niijima, his coworker, comes into his office with what seems like a mountain of paperwork.

“In case you haven’t heard already, Kaneshiro confessed to his crimes today,” Sae says, clearly tired as well, before placing the paperwork on his desk. “Here’s the paperwork that’s related to it. They want you to start investigating the case.”

Oh what the fuck, Akechi internally screams. However, he puts on a fake grin and says cheerfully, “No worries, Sae-san. I’ll get started on it as soon as possible.”

Sae nods. “Alright then, I’ll see you on Monday.” She walks out Akechi’s office and closes the door.

Once Akechi’s certain that no one is around to see him, he groans loudly and moves all the paperwork to one side of the desk. A couple of papers fall out, but he doesn’t feel like picking them up. He’s thinking about heading home for the day, maybe stop by the jazz club for a quick drink along the way. Nothing sounds better to him than going home, forgetting all of the paperwork he was assigned, and just taking the day off.

Well, until Kasumi texts him.

Kasumi (Direct Messages):

Kasumi: Just got off practice today. Wanna meet up?

Akechi ponders for a moment. Part of him wants to just say no, but it's not like he has anything better to do anyway, and Kasumi’s a fun person to be around. Sometimes.

Akechi: Sure, I guess. Any places you got in mind?

Kasumi: Nope. How about you?

Akechi: Yeah. There’s a jazz club in Kichijoji. Meet me there. Here’s the directions.

Kasumi: Alright see you there!

A couple of minutes later, Kasumi’s on the train heading towards the Jazz club Akechi mentioned. She could tell there was something wrong with him today, he definitely didn’t seem as cheerful when he texted her. Did something happen?

After getting off the train and following the directions Akechi provided, she finally arrives at the jazz club. It seems to have a nice, cheerful atmosphere, so it’s no wonder why Akechi might consider stopping here after a long day of work.

After a good five minutes or so, Akechi finally shows up to the bar. He looks extremely tired, annoyed, and maybe even a bit angry.

“Hey, Goro!” Kasumi greets cheerfully, in an effort to cheer him up. It doesn’t work.

“Hello,” Akechi mutters, before heading into the jazz club. Kasumi follows suit.

Inside the club, the manager greets Akechi warmly. “Hey, what’s up Akechi-kun?” He notices Kasumi and a small smirk forms on his lips. “Oh, bringing in a girl here as well? Though I’d expect you—”

“It’s not like that,” Akechi retorted, before heading towards one of the tables.

The manager whispers into Kasumi’s ear. “He can be like that sometimes. Being a TV star and having to do tons of paperwork takes a toll on a teenager, y’know? Don’t take it too personally.”

Kasumi nods. “I understand. Thank you!”

The manager smiles. “No problem. I’ll come out with your drinks shortly.”

Kasumi nods again before heading to Akechi’s table. She sits down across from him and speaks up.

“Hey, Goro, are you alright? You seem pretty down,” Kasumi starts off.

“Nah, I’m fine,” Akechi reassures, but his tone says otherwise. “Just had a hard time at work today.”

“Goro, I can tell when you’re lying,” Kasumi points out. “It’s fine to tell me, I won’t judge.”

Akechi sighs. “It’s nothing special. I just have a lot of paperwork ever since the Madarame and Kaneshiro cases popped up. Maybe I’m a little stressed, but nothing other than that.”

“I see… Well, didn’t the Kaneshiro case just come out? Just take today off to relax and worry about it tomorrow! You’ve just gotten out of work!” Kasumi points out.

Akechi shakes his head. “That might be true, but the paperwork is still a mess. Even if these Phantom Thieves are doing the right thing, they sure are creating a ton of work for us in the SIU Department. It’s all going to be due pretty soon.”

“Oh come on,” Kasumi says a little too dramatically, resulting in some people to stare at her, causing her to become a bit flustered. “Whoops. Anyway, what I’m trying to say here is that if I can relax for a bit when the gymnastics competition is tomorrow, you can too!”

Akechi’s shocked. He knew that Kasumi was obviously busy due to gymnastics, but he wasn’t expecting the competitions to be so early. “You had a competition tomorrow?”

“Y-You didn’t know?” Kasumi asks in a disappointed tone. Not the kind of “disappointed” tone she uses to mess with Akechi, but actual disappointment.

“I don’t think you ever told me,” Akechi points out, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. He honestly feels like a douche for not remembering (even though he acts like one all the time when no one’s around).

“Oh yeah… That’s true,” Kasumi mutters. “My bad. A-Anyway, I know it’s short notice, but do you w-want to… maybe watch me tomorrow?”

Akechi noticed Kasumi’s blushing and was stammering when she said it. She hardly acted like that, and she definitely usually had a more confidant aura around her. He wasn’t too sure why she was acting like that, but he’ll probably figure that out later.

“Unfortunately, I can’t come,” Akechi says, shaking his head. “Like I’ve said before, I do have a ton of paperwork to do due to the recent cases. Hopefully, I’ll be able to watch the next competition.”

“Oh…” Kasumi mutters disappointedly. “Well, you’re a busy person too… Sorry that I’m wasting too much of your time.”

“There’s no need to apologize,” Akechi quickly reassures. “In fact, I actually enjoy spending time with you, so none of this time is going to waste.”

“Really?” Kasumi asks.

Akechi nods. “I mean it. While we originally met after I helped you out, that doesn’t mean that you’ve never helped me out as well. Take today for example. You helped relieve some stress from me, and I honestly do feel much better now.” He then pauses before saying,

“You’re actually one of the few people I look forward to seeing, to be honest.”

Even though it’s a small statement, and he probably doesn’t mean it that way, that doesn’t stop Kasumi from blushing a little more and her heart starting to race. She beams. “It’s definitely the same for me, too! I really enjoy spending time with you, Akechi!”

At that moment, the manager comes out with their two drinks. “Sorry to interrupt the romantic bonding, but your drinks are out.” He places the drinks on the table.

“Thank you,” both Kasumi and Akechi say, but Akechi also says, “I already told you it’s not like that.”

The Jazz Jin manager sighs and rolls his eyes. “Yeah right.” He then chuckles a bit and leaves to get more drinks for other customers.

Akechi takes a sip out of his drink. “Mmm, it’s quite nice. The sweetness is just right. What do you think, Kasumi?”

Kasumi takes a longer sip, with about a quarter of the glass being empty. “This is definitely a good place, Goro. It tastes really delicious!”

“Yeah, I can tell,” Akechi replies, pointing to the glass. “So uncivilized.”

“Hey! What do you mean by that?” Kasumi exclaims. Akechi just shrugs, trying to contain a laugh.

The two continue to chatter about random things, like Kasumi’s gymnastics and Akechi’s detective work, and even a little bit of teasing occurs.

Once the two are done with their drinks, Akechi checks his phone and notices that it’s getting late. Even the Jazz Jin manager is beginning to start to clean up the club now.

“Oh, the Jazz Jin is closing now,” Akechi points out. “I’ll walk you to the train station.”

“Such a gentleman,” Kasumi teases, poking at Akechi’s arm. “I accept your offer.”

Akechi rolls his eyes. “Well, alright then, let’s get going.”

The two say their goodbyes to the Jazz Jin manager and leave.

Once the two get to the train station, Akechi notices that he has to board a different train than the one Kasumi’s taking.

“Well, Kasumi, thank you for meeting me here today,” Akechi says. “I’ll see you sometime soon.”

“No problem. See you later!” Kasumi says, smiling. The two wave to each other and head towards their own respective trains.

While on the train, Akechi can’t help but think about why Kasumi was acting a bit differently at the jazz club. Sure, he was acting like a bit of an asshole, but that’s just who he was. Kasumi, on the other hand, definitely isn’t the type of person to get flustered over him watching a simple gymnastics competition.

He tried to piece the things together. Kasumi stuttering when she asked him to come to the competition, her showing disappointment when he said he couldn’t make it (and then blaming herself for it), and then the way she smiled after he admitted to enjoying spending time with her. Alone, it wasn’t really much, but then…

Wait, Akechi thought to himself, as the answer came to him crashing like a pile of bricks. He wasn’t too sure of it himself, to be honest, but even he knew the basic signs.

Kasumi was definitely falling for him.

Now, to be fair, Akechi hasn’t really shown his true colors yet. He’s sure that once she learns the true story, she’ll just forget about him. Maybe even hate him. But that still doesn’t change the fact that she definitely had a crush on him. He's not an expert on romance, but he's not dense.

Great, Akechi thinks to himself. Now I feel like more of an asshole after turning her down.

As for himself? He thinks that it doesn’t matter whether he likes her as a romantic interest or not. It’s negative outcomes either way, the closer she is to him, the more likely she’s going to find out that he’s a serial killer. Everything’s still pretty complicated for him, though, so of course the best option would be to just not think about it for the time being.

Chapter Text

It was the day of the gymnastics tournament. Both of the Yoshizawa twins were pretty nervous entering the gym, with each one wishing to impress their respective senpais, even Kasumi who normally was more calm when it came to these kinds of performances. As the two twins checked in at the front desk, they anxiously waited for the competition to begin.

The competition lasted for hours, with each individual gymnast going up to the mat and performing for the panel of judges, before finally receiving their scores. Since it was by alphabetical last name, Kasumi and Sumire were the last gymnasts to go.

“Alright, onto the final two competitors of this round! First, Kasumi Yoshizawa! Please step forward onto the mat!” one of the judges announced.

Kasumi steps on forward to the mat and bows. Picking up her ribbon, her heart flutters as she imagines Akechi in the audience, watching her. She begins at her starting position, takes a deep breath, and begins her routine.

Kasumi dances across the mat, twirling, leaping, and flipping. It’s her usual “bold” style that usually got her to win the competition. By the time she finishes her last twirl and ends her routine with a bow, she can tell that the judges are impressed as always.

The judges begin to converse with each other before finally nodding and scribbling a score on the scoresheet. As Kasumi walks off the stage, the judges call up the final contestant.

“That was an excellent performance! Now, for the final contestant, Sumire Yoshizawa! Please step on the mat!” a judge announces.

“Good luck,” Kasumi says to Sumire, smiling. Sumire only mutters a “thanks” in response before timidly heading up onto the mat.

As she holds the ribbon, Sumire can feel her heart pounding and her hands shake. Oh, what if I mess up and disappoint Senpai? Sumire worries, making the experience even more nerve wracking. She knows he’s too nice to say that to her face, but that doesn’t stop her from worrying about how he’ll think about her from now on. As she is in her starting pose, her figure wobbles a bit, and she tries to calm her nerves down.

Ok, I just need to be myself. Like what Senpai and Coach have been saying all this time. Sumire reassures herself. She then takes her final breath before beginning her routine.

While Kasumi’s routine focused more on boldness, Sumire’s routine was definitely more graceful. She made light steps, short leaps, small twirls, and the occasional flip. Unfortunately, there were a couple of times where she almost tripped (mainly because of the stress), but other than that, her performance was excellent.

Once her routine was over, Sumire was panting and her heart rate quickened. She almost wanted to collapse on the mat right then and there, but managed to still stand up tall for the judges, as if it was nothing to her. The judges murmured among themselves once again, and to Sumire’s surprise, they seemed to be satisfied.

Sumire went off the mat and joined her twin sister on the sidelines. It took around ten minutes before the medals were brought in and the judges had made their final decisions.

The judges began with saying the usual remarks, things along the lines of “we could see everyone practiced hard” and that “everyone today had potential to become a great gymnast.” They then began announcing the names of the honorable mentions. It wasn’t a surprise that Kasumi wasn’t there (she never was), but Sumire did have some hope. Maybe she got third place again?

But then when the judges announced the third place winner, it wasn’t her. Maybe I did worse than I thought? Sumire wondered to herself.

“And in second place, we have… Sumire Yoshizawa!” the announcer proclaimed.

Sumire was shocked. It was the first time she’d ever gotten anything above third place (and more often than not, she didn’t even reach third place that often). Sure, it wasn’t as good as first place (it was probably Kasumi who got it anyway), but hopefully it’ll make her Senpai proud.

Sumire excitedly went up to the podium and had the silver medal placed around her neck. She put on a big smile, trying to look for Senpai in the applauding crowd (she knew he wasn’t going to show up, but just in case). She did spot her parents in the crowd, with Shinichi clapping and Akane quickly taking out her phone to snap a photo, and both of them wearing smiling faces. Kasumi seemed to be very supportive, as she was smiling even more than Sumire with pride for her younger sibling.

“Finally, we have our first place winner, and our rep… may I present to you… Kasumi Yoshizawa!” the announcer exclaims to the crowd. The crowd cheers louder and Kasumi proudly steps up onto the podium, claiming her gold medal. The three contestants bowed once more as the crowd cheered, and the meet was officially over.

After changing in the changing rooms to normal clothes, Sumire and Kasumi rushed up to their parents. Shinichi managed to scoop them both in his arms into one big hug, before setting them down.

“We’re so proud of you two,” Shinichi starts off. “Especially you, Sumire. Congratulations!”

Akane nods. “Yep! Oh, you should tell your boyfriends about what happened at the meet today! I’m sure they’ll be just as proud as us!”

“MOM!” Kasumi and Sumire both yell, blushing. Akane laughs and while Shinichi rolls his eyes, he does let out a small chuckle.

The next day…

Ren’s walking home from school when suddenly he’s stopped by the voices of two very familiar people. He turns around and notices that they’re the Yoshizawas.

“Senpai!” Sumire shouts. “What a pleasant surprise. Are you headed home too?”

Ren nods. “Yeah, I was going to go to the train station right now. What about you?”

“Oh, we don’t have club practice today,” Kasumi points out. “So we’re heading home as well.”

“Huh? What a coincidence,” a fourth voice chimes in, walking to the group. It’s Akechi.

“I think this is the first time we’ve all got together,” Ren points out. The other three people nod.

“Oh yeah, this just reminded me of something,” Kasumi says. “We’ve got exciting news to share!”

“Kasumi’s been chosen to be our club’s representative,” Sumire sighs. “I didn’t do so well.”

“What do you mean?” Kasumi asks, shocked. “How is getting second place ‘not doing so well?’”

“Second place?” Ren chimes in. “Hey, that’s impressive! You gotta be more proud of yourself. Well done!”

“Huh? You’re not disappointed?” Sumire asks curiously.

Ren gives her a puzzled look. Sumire begins to take back what she said and becomes a stuttering, blushing mess.

 “I-I mean o-of course you aren’t! You’re too nice! I mean… uhh…” Sumire stammers, her face red and heart pounding.

“O… kay?” Ren asks. Kasumi tries to stifle a laugh. Wonder what’s up with her, Ren thinks.

“Anyway, since we’re all in a group anyway, how about we go somewhere to celebrate?” Akechi asks, bored of the drama and changing the subject. “I think I have a little cafe in mind.”

“Oh, you mean the café we went to a couple of times?” Kasumi asks. Akechi nods.

Ren shrugs. “Sure, why not?”

Sumire smiles. “Lead the way!”

“You two drink hot beverages in the summer?” Akechi asks curiously.

Both of them nod. “It’s to prevent our bodies from getting too cold,” Kasumi explains. “Plus, the meet is coming up rather soon.”

“I see, you make sure you’re covering all of your bases,” Akechi says.

Ren rolls his eyes, drinking some of his ice tea. “Yeah, as if we can’t see the steam coming out of your cup.”

“Well, I suppose you have a point,” Akechi chuckles.

“I had this image that you enjoy sweet things, Akechi-san— is that untrue?” Sumire asks. “I swear I saw you eating fried sweet bread on TV just the other day…”

Akechi shakes his head. “It’s all part of a marketing strategy. That sort of stunt is an easy crowd-pleaser.”

“You ate pancakes when we were here,” Kasumi points out. “You seemed to be enjoying them.”

“Says the person who was literally done by the time I only finished my second pancake,” Akechi counters.

“Hey!” Kasumi pouts.

“Anyway, enough about the pancakes,” Akechi says, changing the subject. He then looks at Sumire and Ren. “How did you two meet? I’ve heard that you’ve done a lot for her, Ren.”

“Well, she’s done a lot for me too,” Ren points out. “And yeah we first met on the rooftop after school one day…”

After Ren explains his story, Akechi nods. “I see, it was nice of you to help her out like that. I can see why she’s taken a liking to you.”

“H-Huh?” Sumire says, blushing. Ren just looks confused.

“I mean as friends, of course,” Akechi clarifies. How can he be so dense? Literally anyone can tell that she’s head over heels for him.

Kasumi sighs, “Not gonna lie, I feel guilty about putting you through that. Even if indirectly. Sorry about that, Sumire.”

“Oh don’t worry about it, Kasumi. You didn’t do anything, so don’t blame yourself for this,” Sumire reassures.

Kasumi smiles slightly. “Thanks. And you too Ren, for being with her. Oh that reminds me, we haven’t done any gymnastics lessons in a while. Oh, but the meet’s coming—”

“Don’t worry about it. You have to prepare for the upcoming meet, right?” Ren reassures. “I can take a break. Plus, Sumire’s been teaching me really well!”

“Uhh… yeah!” Sumire agrees.

“Thanks,” Kasumi says. “I’ll make sure to teach you sometime soon!”

“Oh, but actually on one condition,” Ren says. “How did you and Akechi meet? We gave you our story, so it’s only fair that you give yours.”

“Well, we technically first met when I pulled her over to safety,” Akechi points out. “But the time when she and Sumire came to the TV station was probably when we met for real.”

Akechi and Kasumi give their story at the TV station, while Ren and Sumire listen. Once they’re done, Sumire speaks up.

“I guess I underestimated how much you cared for me,” Sumire admits. “Especially at that time. But I understand now, thanks to Senpai.”

Kasumi nods. “It’s alright. It was kind of my fault too, in a way. But yeah, looks like we’ve got our own bo— I mean friends, to support us.”

“Well, I can definitely see why she took a liking to you,” Ren points out. “As friends, of course.”

“Heh. Very funny,” Akechi sarcastically replies.

The four talk for a while until it starts to get late and they are some of the last people in the café.

“Oh, looks like the café is closing soon,” Akechi observes. “And the trains are going to stop soon. I suppose it’s time for everyone to go home now.”

The other three nod in agreement.

“Well, it was definitely nice talking with you three,” Ren says. “Oh, and congrats once again!”

“Thank you!” both of the twins say.

The four people head out of the café and go to the train station, before heading onto their separate trains, saying their good-byes, and leaving to go home.

Chapter Text

Akechi’s currently at work, wrapping up the paperwork necessary for the remainder of the Kaneshiro case. After this, he’s essentially done with work until the next case pops up. As he organizes the last couple of papers into the folder and closes it, he stretches and yawns. Mid-stretch, his phone rings.

Oh, it’s her, Akechi realizes. He picks up immediately.

Ever since he, Ren, and the two twins met, Kasumi’s been calling him consistently after his shift is over, and they usually talk on the phone for a good half-hour or so. Akechi’s almost certain as to why she’s doing that, but he doesn’t really mind. While constant calls were especially annoying to him (especially those from Shido), he supposes Kasumi is an exception to that rule. Not that he’s into her or anything, of course, but she’s just a nice friend (he still has a bit of a hard time trying to convince himself this).

“Hey, Goro!” Kasumi exclaims into the phone.

“Hi, what’s up?” Akechi responds. “Oh, I heard you had a gymnastics competition today. How was it?”

“It was great! Got first place again!” Kasumi says cheerfully.

Akechi smiles. “I knew you could do it, Kasumi. We should probably go somewhere to celebrate.”

“Thanks, Goro! Oh, but speaking about places to celebrate, are you free tomorrow?”

Akechi thinks if he has any other prior commitments. He doesn’t recall any. “No, not really. You have somewhere in mind?”

“I was wondering if we could go to the Summer Fireworks Festival tomorrow! You know, with just you and me!” Kasumi exclaims.

Akechi scratches his head. “Don’t we have to dress up? I don’t think I have the proper clothes.”

“Nah, I don’t think it’s necessary,” Kasumi says. “I think people go casual all the time. Oh, but me and Sumire are probably gonna go in our yukatas.”

Akechi raises an eyebrow. “I thought we were going alone?”

“Well, yeah, we probably are. But… Sumire’s probably going to ask Ren too, y’know? She’s definitely into him,” Kasumi explains.

“So that’s the reason why you invited me? Because you’re into me? I’m flattered,” Akechi jokes. He can imagine the embarrassed blush on her face right now.

“H-HEY! T-That’s not true! Y-You were the one who proposed this idea in the first place!” Kasumi protests.

Akechi shrugs. “True, but I mean you were the one who suggested going to the Summer Festival in the first place.”

He doesn’t hear anything on the other side of the phone, other than a very faint “hmph.”

Did I break her? Akechi wonders to himself. Damn, I wish I could just see her cute face right now. Wait a minute…

“Ok, I guess that’s enough teasing for now.” Akechi admits. “Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Ok, see you tomorrow then!” Kasumi exclaims. She hangs up.

“So, Akechi, I assume you’re done with your work?” a feminine voice asks.

“Huh? Oh, Sae-san, hello,” Akechi awkwardly greets. “And yes, I’m done.” He hands over the folder.

Sae looks over the folder before putting it in her briefcase. “Thanks. And, try to set up dates with girls after you’re out of the office next time. It’s unprofessional,” Sae says, before leaving.

Akechi’s just stunned into silence, before regaining his composure and packing up his stuff to leave.

Later that day,

Ren’s sitting on his bed after spending a good couple of hours by being productive, interacting with his other confidants, and getting supplies for their next heist. He’s planning to go to the Summer Festival with just the other Phantom Thieves tomorrow.

That is, until a certain red-head kouhai calls him.

“Hey, Sumire, what’s up?” Ren asks.

“Hi Senpai!” Sumire greets. “Are you free tomorrow?”

“Actually, I’m going to the Summer Fireworks Festival tomorrow with a couple of my other friends. Sorry about that,” Ren says, with a tad bit of regret.

“Oh, I was just going to ask you that Senpai! Do you mind if I joined in?” Sumire asks.

Well, Ren’s not regretting anything anymore. “Sure! I’ll let them know.”

“Thank you so much Senpai! Are you going to be dressing up tomorrow?” Sumire asks.

Ren shakes his head. “I’m going to go in normal clothes.”

“Oh, I’ll be going to my yukata! I think Kasumi’s probably going to ask Akechi,” Sumire replies.

“Huh. Looking forward to it,” Ren says. “Wait, Akechi’s going?”

“I don’t really know. I just kind of assumed that he’d go if Kasumi asked him,” Sumire admits. “Plus, they’re basically a couple already, don’t you think, Senpai? So we should go together too!”

Ren can’t help but laugh a little.

“Ren-senpai?” Sumire asks.

“Oh no, it’s nothing,” Ren says. “Anyways, I’ll see you tomorrow, okay, Sumire? Let’s meet at the train station.”

“Ok! See you tomorrow, Senpai!” Sumire says before ending the call.

Before he forgets, Ren pulls out his phone to text the others about the new addition to their group tomorrow. Everyone’s fine with it, although Ryuji did complain about Ren already having a date for the festival and how unfair it was. Somehow, Ryuji and Ann ended up getting into a pretty big fight over text after he said that. But then again, they bickered all the time, so it wasn’t that big of a surprise.

However, Ryuji’s message did help Ren realize something. Thinking back to what Sumire said earlier, she did imply that she wanted to go as a couple with Ren. He thought she didn’t really mean anything by it, just an accidental slip-up that he’d eventually tease her about. But, Ryuji was right, in a way. With the way she acted and spoke around him, it was definitely affectionate, although Ren wasn’t too sure as to whether it was in a romantic way or not. Well, romantic or not, Ren didn’t want to push it too much. He didn’t want to risk his friendship with her, especially if his assumptions were wrong. It’d probably be better if she just came up to him and told him first. Plus, he wasn’t too sure about how he felt about her. Yeah, she was really cute and nice, but he’s wasn't sure if he even wanted to take it beyond the friendship level anyway.

“Hey, Ren, whatcha thinkin about?” Morgana asks him.

“Oh, not much, really,” Ren lies. He then yawns. “I’m pretty tired today for some reason. Let’s just go to sleep.”

Morgana can tell that Ren’s hiding something, but decides not to press him about it. Ren turns off the lights and Morgana curls up and sleeps on Ren’s lap.

The next day…

Sumire’s heading to the train station, just as she planned with Ren yesterday. Kasumi already left to go with Akechi, who apparently took her out to go eat and look around. She finally arrives at their meeting spot, where she spots Ren, a blonde boy (Ryuji, if she remembers right), and a blue-haired boy in a yukata, as well as two girls. If she remembered correctly again, they were Ann Takamaki and Makoto Niijima.

As she approached them, she could tell that they were talking about something, even the cat, who was meowing. She couldn’t exactly figure out what they were saying, but it seemed that Ryuji and Ann were arguing, while the blue-haired boy was talking about something on his own. Ren and Makoto were talking to each other, and after Ren said something, Makoto gave an embarrassed look and blushed a little before muttering something.

Sumire couldn’t exactly explain why she suddenly felt jealous, or why she suddenly felt the need to interrupt them. Without even thinking about it, she ran up to the group.

Before Sumire could even speak, Ren already noticed her presence.

“Oh, hi, Sumire,” Ren greeted, turning around. The other members of the group stopped walking and turned to look at her.

“Whoa Ren!” Ryuji exclaimed, “Is she your cute girlfri—”

Before Ryuji could finish, Ann slapped him across the face.

“Oh come on Ann, what was that for?!” Ryuji complained.

“Everyone, this is Sumire,” Ren introduced. “Y’know, the girl I said who would be joining us today.”

Sumire immediately bowed. “H-Hello everyone, my name is Sumire Yoshizawa. I’m a first-year at Shujin Academy.”

“Name’s Ryuji,” Ryuji introduced.

“Hi! I’m Ann!” Ann exclaimed.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Makoto,” Makoto introduced.

“And I am Yusuke Kitagawa,” the blue-haired boy (Yusuke) said.

“I’m Morgana!” Morgana exclaimed, but of course, all Sumire heard was just an enthusiastic meow.

“A first-year…” Makoto muttered to herself. “You have a sister, right? Kasumi?”

“Y-Yes, that’s right,” Kasumi replied.

Ryuji shakes his head. “Man, it’s crazy how she remembers all that.”

Ren shrugs. “Well, she is the Student Council President after all.”

“So, how did you and Ren meet?” Ann asked curiously.

“Well, umm…” Sumire started off.

“We just met after school, and we’ve been friends ever since,” Ren explained.

“Y-Yeah!” Sumire agreed, before mumbling to herself, “ Friends …”

“Huh? Did you say somethin?” Ryuji asked. “You kinda cut off at the end.”

“O-Oh, it’s nothing!” Sumire reassured. Everyone seemed to believe her and continued walking, except for Ren, who raised his eyebrow before walking with the rest of the group.

After a short walk, the group finally made it to the crowded fireworks area. The fireworks were already starting. A couple of red fireworks were shot into the sky before something wet landed on Ren’s face. Morgana immediately hid in Ren’s bag.

“Huh? Senpai, is that rain?” Sumire asked. Ren simply nodded.

The group sighed. “Why did it have to be now…” Makoto complained.

The group immediately went to find shelter. They managed to go inside a store.

“Ack… We’re just tryin’ to get outta the rain, but look how crowded it is…” Ryuji complained.

“I guess everyone had the same idea,” Ann says dejectedly. She notices Makoto staring out the window. “Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing, I just think I saw someone I knew,” Makoto reassures.

“You mean the girl in the black car?” Sumire asks.

Ryuji sighs again. “At least she has a ride. Hey, c’mon Mona, time to show your skills! We need you as a car!”

Everyone mentally facepalms at Ryuji’s statement, except for Sumire, who’s just standing there confused.

“Umm… Ryuji-senpai? How can Morgana turn into a car?” Sumire asked.

“Oh, umm… It’s just an inside joke,” Ren reassures. Dammit Ryuji…

Sumire seemed to believe it and just nodded.

“Oh! Sumire, you’re here too?” a voice asks. Ren recognizes it as Kasumi’s.

Kasumi and Akechi come into the store, with Kasumi wearing a purple and green version of Sumire’s yellow and red yukata and Akechi wearing his normal detective clothes. Surprisingly, their clothes are dry. Akechi closes the umbrella he’s carrying.

Huh, detective’s intuition I guess, Ren thinks to himself. Really wish I brought an umbrella just in case.

“I didn’t expect you to have a large group of friends,” Akechi notes.

Everyone except for Ren and Sumire just stare at Kasumi and Akechi awkwardly.

“Hey, umm, Ren?” Ryuji asks. “Is that the guy from the TV Station?”

“Oh, where are my manners?” Akechi says. “I’m Goro Akechi, who, yes, was at the TV Station Field Trip.”

“Oh, I’m Kasumi Yoshizawa,” Kasumi greets. “I’m Sumire’s older twin sister.”

The other Phantom Thieves start introducing themselves, except for Ren, for obvious reasons.

“Anyway, how did your day go?” Ren asks. “Besides the fireworks, of course.”

“Oh, we had fun celebrating Kasumi’s achievement in gymnastics,” Akechi reassured. “My wallet, though, is… another story.”

“Hey!” Kasumi complains. Ren just laughs.

“Well, anyway, we should all start heading home now. Fireworks are out, and there’s not really much to do anyway, since all the shops are closing now,” Akechi points out.

Everyone agrees, and head to the train station together as a group, trying to stay under shelter as much as possible. The other Phantom Thieves ask questions to Akechi and Kasumi, since they were new to the group. While the thieves are talking, Makoto pulls Ren towards her. Ren can swear he saw Sumire glaring at Makoto for a split second, but decides to listen to what his advisor has to say.

“Is Akechi going to hangout with us from now?” Makoto whispers. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, considering he’s a detective and whatnot.”

Ren shakes his head. “Nah, after today he and Kasumi are probably not going to hang out with us anymore. We’ll be fine.”

“Ok, sounds fine. What about Sumire?” Makoto asks. “You two seem pretty close after all.”

Ren shrugs. “Honestly, she’s a great friend. I know what you mean, though. But I trust her. We just need to be a bit careful when we’re around her.”

Makoto nods, and right when they’re finished talking, the last of the trains are already there. He waves goodbye to the group, and they all go on their own paths.

Chapter Text

Ren’s currently taking a stroll across Kichijoji. The Phantom Thieves are in pretty high spirits so far, due to the fact that they recently managed to steal Futaba’s heart and help her deal with her guilt over killing her own mom (which she didn’t even remotely do in the first place), and hopefully gaining a new member to the Phantom Thieves. Ren hoped that Futaba would be able to recover quickly, especially after all that she went through.

He then notices a person with red hair near one of the shops in the Kichijoji. Ren instantly recognizes her as Sumire, easily able to tell her out of a crowd. He dashes over towards where she’s standing and makes eye contact with her.

“Hey, Sumire! What’s up?” Ren greets, with a smile on his face.

Sumire smiles back. “Oh, Senpai! How have you been doing?”

Ren replies, “Pretty great actually. You got any plans for today?”

“Actually, yes, I was thinking of doing a different kind of training than usual,” Sumire says, nodding. “What do you think? Do you have time to try it out right now?”

Please, please, please say yes, Sumire silently pleads.

Luckily for her, Ren doesn’t seem to be busy at all. “Yeah, definitely! It sounds interesting. What is it?”

“We’re going to the batting cages! I hope you’re excited!” Sumire exclaims, bursting with excitement.

“Sure am,” Ren confirms. “Lead the way!”

The two arrive at the batting cages, which ends up being pretty close by to where they were talking before.

“Probably didn’t expect to be meeting me at the batting center, huh?” Sumire asks.

Ren nods his head. “It’s definitely a surprise. You’re not scheming anything, right?” he asks jokingly.

Sumire shakes her head. “I’m not scheming anything at all. Though I suppose it would be a surprise, Senpai. Supposedly, batting helps train your reflexes and dynamic vision and strengthens your stance.”

“And those are probably pretty important elements in gymnastics, right?” Ren asks Sumire.

“Yeah, that’s right! Though, to be completely honest, I just wanted to come here,” Sumire admits.

“Same,” Ren agrees, before adding on, “Though I also came just to hang out with you too.”

Sumire has a slight blush on her cheeks. “Senpai!”

Ren holds up his hands, “Hey, I really do mean that. Seriously, I’m not teasing this time.”

As much as Sumire tries to hide it, the comment does put a smile on her face. “Well, now that you brought it up, I did hope for you to come here with me. I wanted you to see me hit a home run.”

“This is kind of sudden…” Ren notes.

“My father used to take Kasumi and I to the batting cages a lot when we were little. The other kids were scared of being hit by the baseballs, but I just loved swinging the bat around. Even Kasumi. I suppose that is one weakness to her, besides heights and cooking, I guess. Anyway, every time I hit one, I kept thinking, ‘It doesn’t matter how fast they are! I’ll slam them into orbit!’” Sumire recalls. “So, I thought if I tried to put myself back in that headspace, I could get some ideas on how to improve after the last competition. What do you think?”

“Hey, second place was and still is very impressive,” Ren points out. “Though it’s nice that you’re trying to improve yourself. Go ahead. I’ll sit back and watch.”

Sumire beams. “I feel so energized now! I’ll show you what I can do, Senpai!”

Sumire gets up on the batting range and prepares her stance. She turns to her senpai and proclaims, “Next up to the plate: Sumire Yoshizawa! Here I go!”

Ren does a small clap and a cheer to help encourage her.

The first baseball flies past, with Sumire not even noticing it. “Were they always this fast!?” Sumire asks herself, shocked.

She prepares her stance again for the next ball. Unfortunately, the ball zooms past her like the previous one.

Wait what? Ok… no more warm-ups, Sumire. From now on, it’s going to be 100% home-runs! Sumire thinks to herself.

The machine continues to fire the baseballs.

“Eep!” Sumire squeaks as one flies past her, nearly hitting her in the head.

A few more fly by. Sumire manages to almost hit a couple of them through sheer luck, but other than that she hasn’t even touched any of the balls so far.

Gosh, I’m doing worse than Kasumi right now. Maybe I should try calming my nerves? But Senpai’s literally watching me mess up every single time… Sumire quietly tells herself.

The last ball is dispensed, and flies by Sumire once more. The machine stops, and Sumire turns to face Ren, with a mix of embarrassment, disappointment, and a touch of frustration in her facial expression.

“I-I’m sorry… I know I was rusty, but I didn’t expect to miss ALL of them,” Sumire says dejectedly. “I never see the ball coming, and I keep flinching… Even Kasumi did better than this…”

“Hey, don’t compare yourself to Kasumi,” Ren advises. “And don’t give up yet, I know you can do this!”

After hearing the encouraging words, Sumire smiles and nods. “You’re right! I’ll give it another shot!”

Ren gives a thumbs-up from the bench.

Sumire takes a deep breath. Ok, stay calm, don’t get scared, eyes on the ball, Senpai’s watch — , no, stay calm Sumire.

The first ball whizzes by.

Shoot, I gotta stay focused! Sumire reminds herself.

The next couple of balls result in misses, but the bat seems to get closer towards the ball each time. Finally, when the last ball is shot, Sumire manages to hit the ball, sending it flying.

After exiting the batting cage, Sumire excitedly rushes up to Ren. “I did it, Senpai! I hit the ball!”

“I saw! Congratulations!” Ren exclaims, with pride in his voice for Sumire.

“I knew you were watching me! That’s how I did my best!” Sumire exclaims. “Up until now, I’ve only been working for myself. I was so desperate to make a good impression, whether it’d be from my parents or Kasumi or Coach, but since I started hanging out with you, Senpai, I started feeling like I wanted to live up to your expectations. And that feeling’s helped me feel so much stronger.”

“So, is this a love confession then?” Ren asks playfully.

Sumire blushes again, as usual. “Senpai! I was being serious!”

“Ok, my bad. I’ll stop doing that. Maybe. But in all seriousness, that’s important. Don’t forget how it feels, okay, Sumire?” Ren replies.

“Right! Thank you very much!” Sumire exclaims in gratitude. “Ever since I met you, Senpai, I’ve been discovering so many things about myself. But now, I feel like I’m closer than ever to regaining my confidence back, especially compared to how you and I first met on the rooftop. I may not be at the skill and level I want to be right now, and I still dream of beating Kasumi one day at a competition, but you definitely helped me get out of the mess that I was in around the start of the school year.”

Ren shakes his head. “I didn’t do a whole lot. It pretty much all came from you. Nicely done!”

“Thanks, Senpai! I’ll show you how well I’ve improved the next time we meet!” Sumire exclaims.

“I’ll definitely be looking forward to it! Good luck!” At this moment, Ren can hear the familiar chains shattering whenever he interacts with some of his confidants.

“Hey, Senpai,” Sumire speaks up, bringing him back to reality.

“Oh, Sumire, what is it?” Ren asks.

“It’s your turn to do the batting cages now!” Sumire points out. “Hit those balls hard enough to go into outer space!”

Ren nods and flashes a grin. “Sure will.” He takes up the stand and prepares to hit the balls from the batting machine.

Unfortunately for him, that didn’t go so well, with him only managing to hit two balls, and with one of them hitting him right in the forehead, which managed to get a slight giggle out of Sumire and Ren.

After Sumire and Ren both take a couple of turns in the batting cage, Sumire realizes that she has to go back home, and Ren realizes that he still needs to meet up with some of his confidants.

“Thank you so much for coming with me here today, Senpai!” Sumire exclaims.

“No problem. Thanks for inviting me here,” Ren replies.

Sumire nods. “Actually I was wondering about something. I know that you’re interested in gymnastics somewhat and all that… But I was wondering if we could spend some time doing things other than gymnastics, like to just chat or hang out together…”

“Sure, definitely! I’m up for that!” Ren exclaims. “We don’t have to be doing gymnastics every time we meet up, after all.”

Sumire nods and beams. “Thank you so much Senpai! I guess I’ll see you soon then, maybe after summer break is over?”

Ren nods. “Sounds like a plan. Although, we could always just call and text each other, even over the break.”

“I agree,” Sumire replies. “Unfortunately, I have to get going now. See you later, Ren-senpai!”

“Me too. See you later, Sumire!”

The two leave the batting cages, with Sumire heading off towards the train station and Ren leaving to go meet with his other Confidants.

Two days later…

Ren’s currently enjoying summer break, and with no school, he’s making the most he can out of it by hanging out with his Confidants and buying supplies in preparation for their next heist. He’s about to head back to Leblanc for a nice plate of curry and to just relax for a bit until his phone rings.

He looks at the caller. Surprisingly it’s actually not Sumire (which to be honest he was kind of hoping it would be her), but it’s actually Kasumi. Nevertheless, he still picks up the phone anyway.

“Hey, Kasumi, haven’t heard from you in a while. What’s up?” Ren asks.

“Oh, hey, Ren! How are you doing?” Kasumi greets back.

“I’m doing great, what about you?” Ren replies.

“Same here. Actually, I called to ask if you wanted to meet up. Are you busy?”

“Nope, not at all,” Ren states. Guess the curry will have to wait. “Where do you want to meet up?”

“Does the Jazz Jin work for you? I can send you directions.”

“Sure, I’ll meet you there.”

“Awesome. See ya there!”

Ren hangs up and Kasumi sends him the directions. He begins walking back towards the train station to meet up with her.

When Ren arrives at the Jazz Jin, Kasumi’s already there, waiting for him. She’s wearing a similar outfit to the one that Sumire tends to wear, except that the tank top is purple and the skirt is black. Kasumi notices his presence and greets him.

“Oh hey, Ren, what’s up?” Kasumi greets.

“Hello,” Ren replies. “Let’s go in, shall we?”

Kasumi just nods and the two head into the Jazz Jin.

As the two of them order their drinks, Ren begins to start up the conversation.

“You know, Akechi actually brought me to this place recently,” Ren starts off. “It definitely has a calming atmosphere.”

Kasumi nods. “Yeah, definitely. Akechi told me about this place too. I go here pretty often with him. By the way, did you tell Sumire you were coming here?”

Ren raises an eyebrow. “No, why do you ask?”

“Oh, good,” Kasumi says, with relief in her tone. “I just don’t want her to be all jealous and pout and all that.”

Ren can’t help but chuckle. “I guess so. I think I did hear her on the phone when we called a while back. And plus, you say that as if you don’t spend a lot of time with Akechi anyway.”

“Hey! That’s not true!” Kasumi denies, with a slight blush on her face.

Ren chuckles again. “Yeah, right. You literally went on a date with him at the Summer Festival. And a bunch of other ones before that, I think.”

Before Kasumi can deny or argue back, the waiter places their drinks on the table. Both Kasumi and Ren say their thanks to the waiter and take a sip out of their drinks.

Huh, it has a bit of a fruity flavor to it, and it’s definitely not as sweet as last time,” Ren notes.

“They change their drinks everyday I think,” Kasumi says, taking another sip of hers. “But yeah, they’re definitely all good.”

Ren nods. “Yeah, definitely. So, why did you even bring me here anyway? I’m not complaining or anything, just curious.”

Kasumi shrugs. “Eh, just to talk, I guess? We haven’t really talked lately, and plus I kind of wanted to get back to our gymnastics lessons again. By the way, how has Sumire been teaching you?”

“She’s great,” Ren says. “I learn a lot from her. We actually met a couple of days ago at the batting cages.”.

“Well, that’s not unexpected,” Kasumi replies, smiling. “Hey Ren?”

“Yeah?” Ren asks. “What is it?”

“I just wanted to say thank you,” Kasumi says. “For being by my sister for this long. I think you’re probably her only friend at Shujin, and I appreciate you for doing that. If you haven’t come along, well, let’s just say that she definitely wouldn’t be in the state that she is in today.”

“I mean, to be completely honest, I didn’t do much,” Ren replies. “All I did really was just be friendly with her.”

“Still, that helped a lot,” Kasumi points out, before saying with a playful smile. “No wonder she likes you so much.”

“Yeah, we are pretty close friends,” Ren replied, though he knew what Kasumi was saying and implying.

Kasumi just nods. “I can see that. Do you have any plans for summer break?”

Ren shakes his head. “Nah, not really. Mostly just hang out with my friends and go explore the city, I guess. I’m still relatively new here.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right, I think Sumire told me about that,” Kasumi responds, before finishing the rest of her drink in one shot. “Unfortunately Sumire and I have more gymnastics practice to go through. Another competition is coming up, right after summer break is over.”

Ren nods his head. “I see. Is gymnastics really that difficult and time-consuming?”

Kasumi shakes her head. “Not really. But like any other sport, if you want to be good in it, you have to put in the time and effort. Speaking of which, why are you interested in gymnastics? Just curious.”

“Eh, I thought it looked kind of cool,” Ren says, making sure to not mention anything about the true reasons as to why he does it. “Plus it’ll keep me physically fit.” He finishes up his drink.

“Yeah, those are pretty good reasons,” Kasumi says. “Speaking of which, do you want to go to the park right now? I can test how well you can do the exercises Sumire taught you and stuff.”

“I’m up for that,” Ren replies. At this moment, just like all of the other Confidants he has, he hears the familiar chains breaking in his head, signifying another Hope Rank-Up.

After paying the bill (which they split, despite Ren’s insistence that he could cover both of the drinks), the two leave the Jazz Jin and head for Inokashira Park. Over there, Kasumi drills him on some exercises and even teaches him some new ones as well. Despite Ren’s soreness at the end of the ninety-minute workout, he still manages to stand and thanks Kasumi for her help. Kasumi tells him that she needs to go to her own gymnastics practice now, so the two part ways for the day.

Much later…

After recounting his story up till that point (and carefully considering which details to leave out), Ren stops talking for a moment and shakes his head. Sae asks a couple of questions to Ren, but he makes sure to respond with brief responses, never giving out too much information.

“Alright then, it seems that you are telling the truth… for now,” Sae starts off. “Anyway, let’s move on to your next target. This wasn’t the only person to have died after you supposedly changed their heart.” Sae starts off, before flipping to a page in her portfolio. “Principal Kobayakawa. You targeted him next. And he seemed to have committed suicide within days after his supposed change of heart. As such, your testimony regarding this will be very serious. Why would you target and possibly even kill another person at Shujin Academy?”

“Well, we didn’t kill him, we don’t kill anyone,” Ren points out. “And even though we had nothing against him earlier, I’ll explain why we targeted him.”

End of flash forward

Chapter Text

The first school day after summer break has finally ended. Students and teachers rush out of the school en masse, whether it’s to hang out with their friends or just to head back home and relax. Well, almost everyone. Really the only one that was left at the school was none other than Principal Kobayakawa himself. He’s currently on a phone call with the SIU Director.

“What? I was in a tabloid magazine?” Kobayakawa asks, surprised. “But I gave a gag order in regards to Mr. Kamoshida’s case…”

“Well, word got out anyway, didn’t it?” the SIU Director asks. “Time’s ticking, you know. Guess we’ll have to send in the assassin now…”

“P-Please wait! Please give me some more time! I will find evidence on the Phantom— No, I already have my suspicions on some of them, and have a bit of evidence to back it up! Just give me another day or two, and I can catch them all!”

There’s a pause of silence before the SIU Director speaks again. “You have my interest, Principal. Please, explain your findings, and if I find them adequate enough, I’ll give you some more time. Now, hurry up and say it.”

Kobayakawa chooses his next words carefully, before explaining his theory.

Flashback to a couple of days ago.

Kobayakawa is currently digging through the folders in Kamoshida’s former office before he resigned after his change of heart. He knows that he can definitely find some information there, he was the Phantom Thieves first target after all. Luckily, no one’s in the school to notice him, since everyone’s still on summer break. Nonetheless, finding out the Phantom Thieves was crucial. Failure could mean his death, the school’s reputation plummeting, or probably both.

After a couple of hours of opening every folder, drawer, and notebook, Kobayakawa was left with nothing. All of it was just junk related to Kamoshida’s sexual abuses and perverted fantasies (mainly with some second-year named Ann Takamaki), but nothing seemed to even be remotely related to what he was looking for. Kobayakawa slumped on the former P.E. teacher’s chair, until he noticed a paper in the office’s recycling bin.

“Students to Expel at Upcoming School Board Meeting,” the title read.

The paper seemed ripped in two, so Kobayakawa quickly taped the two papers together and continued reading.

Turns out there wasn’t much to read. There were only three names on it: Ryuji Sakamoto, Ren Amamiya, and Mishima Yuuki. While he had barely any idea who the third person was, he knew that the first two were those who already had a rep at Shujin for getting into trouble.

He was starting to get a good idea of who might have been part of the Phantom Thieves.

Since he didn’t know much about Mishima, he decided to look into the student’s background. He couldn’t find much, but what he did find was that he used to be part of the Shujin volleyball team. While he was a bit hesitant as to whether he’d expel Mishima due to his appearance, he figured it’d be safer that way. If he was a part of the Phantom Thieves (which Kobayakawa was nearly sure of), he’d have a plausible motive since he suffered Kamoshida’s abuses and was on Kamoshida’s expulsion list.

Still, it seemed implausible that those three were the only ones inside the Phantom Thief ranks. He decided that he would keep a closer eye on them once summer break was over.

On the first day of school, Kobayakawa made sure to keep a close eye on the three suspects. Luckily, it wasn’t too hard since two of them were in the same class. It appeared that after school, Mishima just seemed to chat with Ren for a bit and then he went off and did his own thing. Ren, however, seemed to meet up with Ryuji (which he expected), another blonde girl (he was pretty sure that was Ann Takamaki), and to his surprise, none other than the student council president herself. He also noticed that there was a red-haired girl with glasses slowly following the group (almost as if she was stalking them) before getting pulled away by another girl with a ponytail, but he couldn’t really put his finger on who they were.

Once all the teachers had gone home that day, Principal Kobayakawa sat down on his desk and began to think. He was pretty sure that Ren, Ryuji, and Mishima were Phantom Thieves. And while he wasn’t sure who Mishima had connections with (if he had any at all, he seemed a bit like a loner), he was way more interested in taking out the larger group.

Again, like Mishima, he wasn’t too sure if Ann would be a Phantom Thief, but he was going to expel her anyway just to play it safe. Like Mishima, she also had a motive and she did hang out with the other highly suspected Phantom Thieves. The trickiest part was Makoto. Based on how she left being a detective for him and coincidentally decided to hang out with the suspects, he was pretty sure she was involved someway or another. The problem was that it was risky to expel her, since she was respected by the school population due to her being president and the consideration that her sister, Sae, was an important prosecutor (for now). Then, while he was debating on the matter, that’s when he got the phone call from the SIU Director.

End of flashback .

“Hmm. Mhm,” the director said thoughtfully, pausing a bit before continuing to speak again, “Yes, I believe that you have brought us valuable information, and I think your deductions are correct. Do not worry about the prosecutor’s sister, I will handle that matter when the time comes.”

“T-Thank you, sir!” Kobayakawa says before giving a sigh of relief. “I will see to it that those students are expelled.”

“Good. You should weed out any other students that you deem are unfit for your school, Phantom Thief related or not,” the SIU Director said. “I will send a couple of men to your school to oversee your progress, and I expect them expelled within a couple of days.”

“A-Actually, I have an objection, sir,” Kobayakawa protests.

Before Kobayakawa can finish, the SIU Director snaps, “Do you want to have a mental shutdown right now? We literally have the Phantom Thieves in our grasp now, and you want to not get them expelled!?”

“N-No sir, not at all!” Kobayakawa exclaims in panic. “Let me explain. Based on the past Phantom Thief confessions, they seemed to be all done when they felt threatened. Kamoshida wanted to expel some of my students before he confessed. I say we need to keep this a secret, as even if we expel them, they may be able to still foil our plan!”

“You have a point, Principal,” the SIU Director acknowledged. “Do you have a solution to this?”

“Y-Yes, now that I think of it, I do. The suspects are all going on a Hawaii trip later this week. I say that’s when we make the preparations to officially expel them,” Kobayakawa states. “They won’t be able to affect us from across the world. Then, once they come back from the airport, we arrest them immediately for their crimes, await for them to be put on “trial,” and if necessary, have the detective deal with them.”

The SIU Director laughs sadistically. “That’s such a brilliant plan, Principal! Honestly, I’m shocked at your intelligence. Very well, continue with the plan. And do not worry about possible backlash. I’m sure Shido will find a way to deflect the negative attention off your school.”

“Yes, thank you, Director,” Kobayakawa says, with a little more confidence.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting right now,” the SIU Director says, hanging up.

Kobayakawa is very excited. He’s managed to survive till another day, and he managed to impress the director with his cunning plan. Now all that was needed to do was to wait and get rid of the other “weeds” at his school. Speaking of which, he remembered one, the same girl who he saw earlier today: Sumire Yoshizawa.

She originally got in as an honor student, but to be honest, Kobayakawa was never pleased with her. The only reason why he even took her in in the first place was because Mr. Yoshizawa kept insisting that either both of them go to the school or none of them go to the school. But, after the gymnastics competition that occurred recently, he found himself displeased with the results. While Sumire did get second place, he was expecting that competition to be the competition where she finally would manage to beat her sister. That way, it’d convince him that it was worth keeping her around. Unfortunately, her sister bested her once again, and to be honest, he was pretty sure that Sumire was a lost cause. So, he decided that he’d give her a warning tomorrow about her eventual fate after school. After all, he was under orders to weed out the students unfit for his prestigious school.